The Other Way Out
by James Fortune
Summary: Anna Shepard faced the Catalyst and spat on the options presented. This story covers the post-ending universe of Mass Effect, focusing on the aftermath of the war and the evolution of the galaxy as a whole. A revolution of ideals will take place as Anna Shepard changes the world around her with the help of her friends. (Mostly non-canon, may include comedy, action and innuendo.)
1. Chapter 1 - Breaking the rules

Author's Comment:

To me, Mass Effect has always been a story where you placed yourself into it, but one of the things the great works of Bioware cannot perform, is allow us to build our own endings. This is my view on how things could have happened, should we have as much control over our actions as if we were the character itself... without restrictions of dialog or actions.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for your time.

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Chapter One: Breaking the rules

There she was, staring at the beam up ahead. She knew it would be a difficult task, as Harbinger had already descended behind the pillar of light, waiting for someone to move. But Anna Shepard knew this was it; turning back now would condemn every effort made to bring this small chance at victory against the Reapers. She yelled, at everyone was on the march. Foot soldiers of several different species, several Mako type vehicles, as well as some fighters, all of them tried to clear the way to the beam.

The fighters were there as a self sacrificial squad, trying to lure Harbinger's laser away from the ground efforts, but the head of all Reaper forces was intelligent, and he knew very well that they were a ruse, shooting down a fighter only when it obstructed its view. Sadly for the ground forces, the path was long: a couple hundred meters of pure open terrain. Explosions, screams, death: these filled Anna's ears, as she kept running towards the semi-transparent blue cylinder that rose from the ground and up to the citadel.

Stumbling here and there, as the explosions - or Harbinger's laser – hit too close by, she pressed on. Occasional firing was heard, as Reaper troops, small pockets of these, tried to reach the path to the beam to stop the ground forces. Luckily for the latter, most reaper forces were placed within the city of London, forming cells and pockets of fighters within the buildings, making the fight within these environments hard. Anna's focus was then broken by Harbinger: he aimed at her, as soon as he thinned out her allies enough to have her in sight. The laser travelled across the ground at her, and all she last saw was a Mako swerving and putting itself in the way. What she last heard and felt, respectively, was an explosion, and pain around her waist. Then darkness ensued...

Radio chatter was off the charts, as it was reported that the ground forces had been decimated. This is what woke Anna up, forcing her to stand. With a light grunt of pain, she finally rose to her feet. Her left hand placed on the side of her abdomen, she quickly notices she is bleeding. She knew she didn't have time to waste, and with a sneak peak, she saw Harbinger float away: the Reaper was convinced that the Mako had crushed Shepard.

She chuckled. "Bastard always underestimates his targets." Anna stumbled over to a nearby dead soldier, and ripped off one of his sleeves. Tearing it in two pieces, she made a small patch she placed on her wound, using the second piece to tie it down. She knew that the wound could kill her if not treated, but Shepard needed just enough time to make it to the beam and whatever spot on the Citadel she required to activate the crucible.

She walked, slowly, as movement quicker than that triggered pain from her wound. It took her at least one full minute to reach the beam. From behind the debris of one of the fighters came out a Marauder, but Anna was quick to raise her M-76 Revenant rifle, and unload at least ten rounds on her foe, the last two hitting him in the head, destroying the same in the process.

She packed her rifle on her back, as the kick from it was uncomfortable. She decided to carry her pistol, if her enemies were as small as the one she faced, which she was now stepping over. The beam was wide: she noticed this as the distance to it was shortening. Only a couple of meters away, she started to feel the energy it used, as if the environment near her was charged and vibrant. She stumbled forward, just as Reaper troops crash landed nearby, ready to fight. With Harbinger making the ground shake upon his contact with the surface, Shepard forced herself from daydreaming any longer.

She regained conscience as a blue flash engulfed the room she appeared in. With physics and effects she couldn't bother herself to comprehend, she was materialized mid-air and thrown forward, landing on her left side, making her howl in pain. As she slowly got up, Anderson's voice appeared in the communications. "Can anyone read me?" Anna started to walk forward, very slowly. "Anderson, are you up here too?"

"Shepard?" An affirmative mumble is all he heard from her. "How are you holding up?" Anna chuckled lightly. "Worse than the moment I wake up with a hangover... but I am alive at least... where are you?" Anderson sighed. "In a dark corridor; there are human remains everywhere... and the keepers are busy messing around with the corpses..." Shepard mumbled. "Same here... but I don't see you..."

"I must be in another place that looks like the one you are in... wait... the doors in the far end of the room opened... I am now in this long opening... seems like a circular corridor that goes left and right... you?" Anna groans. "I am still halfway through the corridor... do you see something else?" Anderson nodded, as part of an instinctive reaction. "Yeah... there is this ramp up... hold on... I see a console in the platform it leads to..."

"Don't go too far ahead of me..." Anna said, as she exited the corridor. "I just found that opening you spoke of... and I see a ramp... I am coming over to meet you..." Anna tried to speed herself up, in order to reach Anderson quickly. As she walked with a mild speed up the ramp, she saw Anderson standing there, in front of the console he had reported earlier. "Anderson?" He turned around, stumbling, as he also had a wound near his waist. "Shepard... thank God you are alive..."

All of a sudden, they felt the presence of a third person. The Illusive Man walked up to the area they were in, looking unharmed and healthy, being the only difference the obvious blue tech that shot up his neck from this chest. Everyone could hear Hackett's report on their earpieces, of how someone made it to the Citadel. "You two should stand aside. I have had enough of you ruining my plans..."

Anna gained an expression of anger. "You still think you can control the Reapers?" The Illusive Man chuckled. "Isn't that obvious? I am close to achieving my goal, and even though I respect you, Shepard, I am sure your goals are different, so I can't allow you to continue..." Anna felt an outside force controlling her, making her pull out her pistol and shooting Anderson in the abdomen. "See? This is the kind of power I already have with Reaper tech... Imagine what I could do with full control!"

Anna struggled. "You... you really think they will let you take over? By the looks of it, they already own you!" The Illusive Man began ranting and mumbling on how he was so certain that he would win, but after so much fighting, after seeing so many of his friends being sacrificed, Shepard's patience ran out in that very moment. She dropped her pistol, breaking his control, and pulled out her M-300 Claymore, shooting her foe in the centre of his chest.

Anderson slowly let himself fall to the floor, sitting down. "I thought you were going to talk your way out of this..." Anna shook her head. "Talking is a good way to fix things, but I was not going to stand here and hear him trying to convince himself he was still in charge of his own mind... I am tired, and I want to get things done..." She stumbled forward, letting the shotgun fall from her grip. She tapped away at the holographic console, and soon heard radio chatter about the arms opening.

She then sat down next to Anderson. "Commander..." Anna smirked. "We did it..."

He nodded. "Yes we did. It's quite a view..."

"Best seats in the house."

"God... feels like years since I just sat down..."

"I think you earned a rest." She notices his eyes feeling heavy. "Anderson. Stay with me... we are almost through this..."

"You did good, Anna. You did good. I am proud of you."

"Thank you sir..." Anderson's eyes closed. "Anderson?"

She sighs and leans back, letting herself rest, with the same temptation to close her eyes slowing taking place. Hackett's vibrant voice appears in Anna's ear. "Shepard? The Crucible isn't firing... it must be something on your end..." She slowly gets up, and stares at the console, her vision blurry, and her judgement clouded. "I don't know how to make it fire..."

Suddenly, the floor under her shook, and she was lifted upwards. The platform stopped, and she found herself right below the Crucible. She looked around and saw Avina staring at her. "Avina?" The hologram shook her head. "No. I am the Catalyst." Anna was confused. "I thought the Citadel was the Catalyst." Avina once more shook her head. "No, the Citadel is part of me."

"Why do you look like Avina?" The Catalyst stared at Shepard. "The Citadel has records of your interactions with the VI known as Avina, and so I chose a form familiar to you." Anna groaned, the pain of her abdomen slowly becoming more prominent. "Why am I here?"

"You broke the cycle. By constructing the Crucible, and coming so close, you have changed how things can be done... but you still have to choose..."

"Choose what?"

"How to stop us... I know you came here with the purpose to stop the Reapers... Harbinger knows you, and I control Harbinger..."

"If you control the Reapers..." She flinched in pain. "Why are you allowing me to decide their fate?"

"Because you have proven things to have changed... I was created with the purpose of seeking balance and finding a way stop war between organics and their synthetic creations..."

The Catalyst stares at the beam of energy descending from the Crucible and down onto the Citadel. "I know how you achieved peace between the Quarians and the Geth... so... I am letting you choose..."

"What are my choices?"

The Catalyst slowly rose her left arm and pointed to the left. "You can merge yourself with us. Control the Reapers like I once did... they will you do your every bidding..."

"What else is there?" Anna said, despising the idea of taking over the Reapers.

"You can destroy us. The cables need to be damaged in order to allow the burst of energy coming along with it..." She says, pointing to Shepard's right side. "But I must warn you... the energy will target all synthetics... even you are part synthetic..."

"So... the Geth..." Anna said, realization sweeping over her.

"They will be destroyed..."

Anna looked at the middle. "Is there another option?"

"Yes, there is... Synthesis... the final evolution of all life, where life organics will become partly synthetic, and synthetics, partly organic..."

Anna grinned. "You are so pathetic..."

"Why?"

"I know what you are, and your ideas are amusing at best..." Anna coughs, seeing some blood drops hitting her hand. "You claim to be finding a way to stop the synthetics from betraying their creators, but you betrayed your creators... you fell into the very same stereotype you claim to try and stop... the Leviathan was right about you... but I just needed to see it for myself... send me back down, I need to do something before I can choose..."

The Catalyst, still unaware of Anna's plan, let her descend back down in the elevator. She laid Anderson down on the floor, his hands resting on the middle of his chest, on top of each other, and then closed his eyes. Anna then stared at the console and opened her omni-tool, and began transmitting its info into the console in front of her.

The Catalyst ahd kept a neutral expression until this time, but now, it was of fear... "What are you doing?" Anna smirked at the Avina look alike. "Breaking the rules, like I did when brokering a peace between the Geth and the Quarians... like I did when I put Krogan and Turian fighting alongside each other... like I did when we destroyed Sovereign, and your minion on Rannoch... as well as the Collector base..."

The Catalyst was now in panic. It knew something was changing. Anna tapped away at the console, summoning the last few shreds of strength she had left, in order to pull this off. Suddenly, the base shook, and the Crucible began to charge a sphere of purple energy. The Catalyst looked in horror. "What have you done?"

Anna smirked as her vision became cloudy. "Like I said... I broke the rules..." With a shriek, the Catalyst gained the aspect of a disturbed transmission, before exploding into holographic cubes. Anna saw a blurry blue form come towards her, but passed out, falling on her back, her cloth soaked in blood.


	2. Chapter 2 - A room with a view

Author's Comment:

Here is the second chapter of the story. I could go on, ramble and make a text about how a lot of thoughts regarding this, but I won't. Just read it, and if you have something to say: a word of praise, or one of criticism, feel free to leave it here. Enjoy.

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Chapter Two: A room with a view

Anna's mind drifted in her unconsciousness as she lay on the floor. She found herself inside the darkened park area, her recurring nightmare. Running in a frustration inducing slow motion, she went after the child that died back on Earth. This time, the child gazed back at Anna, who was able to hold on to the kid. He smiled, laying his small left hand on her cheek. "I am ok. It is all over, now..." Suddenly, a white glow pierced from between the branches.

The child was gone, and Anna stood up. Around her, the trees became brown, the leaves and the grass turned into a pleasant green, the shadows all became people she witnessed dying in front of her, or self sacrificing individuals. Legion, Mordin, Thane, and many others: all of them looked over at Anna, and walked to her, giving her words of comfort, before stepping behind her and fading away.

Mordin smiled as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. It couldn't have been any other way. I got the seashells to keep me busy."

Thane, with his hands behind his back, stopped next to her, shoulder aligned with shoulder, his eyes locked on her expression. "Everyone's sacrifice matters. I died so others could live a while longer." Thane took a step forward and smiled, facing Anna again. "Good job facing Kai Leng. If I beat him, I am sure he wouldn't withstand you very long..." He then continued to walk forward, fading away as he started to go down the slope.

Anna looked around and saw that the park area opened into a path that led down a slope, which was bathed in warm sunlight. This path went on forever, and in the very far distance, she saw a beach. The sea breeze struck her, and she knew that somewhere along that shoreline, she could find Mordin.

Legion walked by her, his voice set to that familiar robotic pitch. "Shepard-Commander... Thank you for giving the Geth another chance." Anna smiled, and Legion kept going forward, vanishing as soon as he went past the low stone wall, which was interrupted by the dirt path. There was no gate, just an opening. Something told Anna that it was still too early to go past the wall. She looked up at the sky, blue in its own way, with a few clouds rolling by.

Suddenly, an odd effect covered her sight, as if glass was between her and the sight of the clouds. She looked around slowly, noticing that she was lying down on a hospital bed. Glancing through the class, and then examining her room, she starts to wonder where she is. And then a memory comes to her: one where she was standing in this very same room, looking at Ashley, laying on the very same bed, after the mission at Mars.

She felt like shit... that was an understatement, to be honest. Feeling sore, and weak, she felt like she spent too much time doing nothing, which sparked another question into her mind: how long had she been out? She was about to sit up, to get out of bed, when a minor pain in the left side of her waist quickly appeared.

An Asari nurse, sporting a somewhat purple skin type and no markings, walked into the room, and began analyzing the console, where all the information regarding Anna's condition was present. She had been coming here for quite a while, so she didn't even bother looking at Shepard, until a groan froze her with a wide expression of astonishment. "Commander Shepard?" The Asari nurse said, turning around and bending forward to have a closer look.

Anna turned her head, and faced the nurse, her eyes semi-open. "Is this..." The nurse smiled. "You will be fine. Please don't try to make any effort just yet. I need to ask in a doctor to check on you." Anna mumbled. "How long was I out?" The Asari checked her datapad. "You have been in this room for almost four months, now..." The nurse offered Anna a glass of water, helping her gain a stronger voice. "Four months for a small cut?" The nurse checked her datapad once more. "The cut was small, at least seemed so. But it was deep, and the infection that was taking place was well spread... we had to keep you in a coma, relaxed, in order to treat you properly... seems you woke up well on your own..."

The Asari walked out of the room, and Anna was left alone for a couple minutes. Then the door opened with the characteristic electric noise, and Dr. Chloe Michel walked into the room, addressing Shepard with a noticeable French accent. "Commander Shepard, it is about time you woke up. How are you feeling?" Anna smiled. "Considering I felt like death in the last few months before blacking out... right now it has been an improvement. I feel a little sore, though..."

"Well... you need to stay here for a little while longer. We need to do some checks before you are cleared. I will warn some of your friends that you have awakened. Surely the news will spread from there to all corners of the galaxy." Anna chuckled along with the doctor, laying back on the bad, and staring out the window.

"Doctor?"

Chloe looked at Shepard. "Hmm?"

"These four months of coma... how will they affect my physical performance?"

Michel shook her head. "I am not sure, but we do know we had a physical therapist working on you for the same duration, in order to keep your muscles strong."

Anna thanked the doctor and kept staring out the window. Ten minutes later, she was given the all clear, and began to get dressed in the privacy of her room. As she finished buttoning her shirt up, she heard mild yelling in the hallway.

"Where is she? Where is Shepard?"

Anna opened the door and saw an old friend. "Wrex?"

He laughed with heart and gave her a strong handshake, finishing with a firm grip, just like they did on Tuchanka, prior to facing the Reaper guarding the shroud.

"Good to see you are alive, Shepard. I knew those Reaper bastards had to do a lot worse to bring you down. Come on, there is a lot of catching up to do."

Waving at Chloe, Shepard began to walk out of Huerta Memorial Hospital, with Wrex keeping a slow pace, since she was still somewhat affected by being bedridden for such a long time.

"So Wrex, what happened after the Crucible fired?"

"Well, the blast spread across the galaxy through the relays, the same which became unusable after being forced to spread the explosion."

"What happened to the Reapers?"

"I am getting there. Anyway, that purple energy thing you did spread all over the galaxy, leaving the relays damaged and unusable. The Reapers themselves, once they were hit by the blast, they just stopped attacking and went up into the sky..."

"So it worked... what about the husks, and marauders and all the other ground troops?"

"That is the interesting part. They just dropped. Once the blast hit, it's as if they had shut down. Needless to say, we got rid of them... after stripping the corpses for parts, weapons and any other materials we needed..."

"The way you spoke, I am sure there is more to tell..."

"Yeah, there is..." Wrex tapped away at the elevator console, and they both got in. "The Reapers themselves, the big ones, they began repairing the Relays, had done it in just a few days..."

Before Anna walked out of the elevator, he grabbed her shoulder. "What did you do to the Reapers?"

She smiled at him. "I will let you know later... I just want to gather everyone that deserves to hear the full story in one place, ok? Honestly, I would hate to be forced to tell the same story more than a couple times..."

Wrex chuckled. They kept walking, crossing the path between the elevator and the familiar docking bay of the Normandy in the Citadel. The seconds it took to walk to the door that led to the Normandy, everyone in that docking bay stared at Shepard, as if they were seeing a mythical being. She still carried herself with the same posture she did before, and this only made her stand out anymore: she didn't look defeated; she seemed confident, and victorious.

Wrex opened the door, and they kept walking in absolute silence. When they enter the control chamber, Wrex looked at his friend and smiled.

"I am not the emotional type, but I am sure everyone is eager to see you. They just don't know you woke up yet."

Anna shook her head, smiling. "Then I assume you gave them an excuse to go to the Citadel."

"I was actually talking to the Council, earlier. I just happened to check in on you before that, and Dr. Michel warned me first, since I was in the area."

"What about the rest of the crew?"

"Eve and I split up after the meeting with the Council. She went somewhere with a few other krogan females... to do some... shopping..." He groaned, as if he was embarrassed. "Anyway... everyone else is spread out. They went off to do their own things. We have been docked here for a week now, and I am pretty sure you can set up some sort of surprise..."

Anna glared at him. "I can set up a surprise? Wrex, you and I have been doing the same kind of work for years, and our surprises usually involve shooting someone..."

Wrex smirked. "Yeah, I always love those... if I could pull off a headshot, then the day was won, no matter the outcome..." He scratched his chin. "But you know what I mean... the normal kind of surprises is not my field of expertise..."

The door in front of them opened. Wrex walked ahead, going to the cockpit, with a few words from the pilot seat being directed at him. "Hey, Wrex, what's up?" Wrex placed his hands on the back of the seat. "Still here? You know we aren't leaving any time soon, right?" Joker tapped away at the console. "Well, this is where I am most comfortable, besides... since they upgraded this leather seat to fit my body shape; I don't see myself happy elsewhere..."

"I swear to God, you will take that seat to your grave, if you are allowed to..."

These words made Joker's eyes open wide. He turned his seat around quickly, just as Wrex stepped to the side. He stared in astonishment at Anna, and slowly got up, in order to salute her. She shook her head, and they both smiled, giving each other an embrace worthy of true friendship.


	3. Chapter 3 - Stepping over familiar metal

Author's Comment:

After the third chapter, I can say that the ideas are starting to flow well. It was a slow start but the more I write, the more comes to mind to put in the story. I am not saying I will milk this fan fiction until the last drop, but I doubt this will be a short story, anyway. Hope you like it, and as always, feel free to leave a review, even if it is a simple "I like it". Enjoy.

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Chapter Three: Stepping over familiar metal

Joker sat back down. "It is good to have you back, Commander. Doctor Michel said she wasn't sure when you were going to wake up. How are you feeling?" Anna shrugged her shoulders. I feel ok, I guess. Still a little bit sore where I used to have that wound, but other than that, I feel just fine, like I am ready to return to duty." Moreau smiled. "Good to hear." Anna then glanced back at the door that separated the CIC from the bridge. "Do you know where everyone is? I feel like I owe them an explanation or two."

Joker scratched his chin. "Hmmm... if I remember correctly, the crew kind of split up after the war... I am sure that if you tell them you are here, they will come back quickly. Garrus went back to Palaven, to spend some time with his family. Thankfully, his sister and his father made it out alive and well. Grunt is back in Tuchanka, keeping things in order with the help of the Shaman of clan Urdnot, while Wrex and Eve are here in the Citadel taking care of business."

Anna looked at Wrex. "Grunt is more typical krogan than what I would like to call thoughtful, like you. You left him in charge?" Wrex grinned. "Grunt is the brawn, the Shaman is the brains. I am sure the clans won't split up while I am gone for a couple of days, trying to put the krogan in the Citadel, with an ambassador." Anna felt happy for Wrex's attempts at making the krogan an organized people. "Carry on, Joker."

"Well... Liara is still down in the Crew Deck, doing her usual Shadow Broker business... Vega left for N7 training a month after the relays were all repaired... I still wonder how you got the Reapers to act nice, just saying... Tali went back to Rannoch, to aid in the building effort. Thankfully, the Geth were quick to resume their duties of serving the Quarians, with a few changes this time..." Anna looked at Jeff, curious. "What kind of changes are we talking about?" The door opens behind them and EDI appears. "The Geth now function more as co-habitants of Rannoch, instead of servants. They help the Quarians, now as friends, instead of servants..."

EDI gave Anna a strong embrace. "I am glad you recovered quickly from your comatose state, Shepard."

"Thank you, EDI. So, what about the rest of our well known friends?"

Joker continued. "Ashley is back on Earth, helping with the rebuilding efforts. Cortez is down the shuttle bay, uh..."

"Cortez is alive?!" Anna said, completely surprised.

"Yeah... oh, damn it, you were out cold all this time... he can fill you in with detail of how he made it out..."

"Ok, I will go talk to him right after you are done telling me what happened to the rest."

"Uh... Javik is still in the ship. He is helping Liara prepare some sort of book about the Protheans... I don't know the details, and I honestly don't want to know. I am more of a vid guy... anyway... I can say that things are slowly turning back into what they were before the war started... with a few obvious exceptions, of course, but everything is getting back on track... Jack is back at teaching biotics, Miranda now runs intel and works as an infiltrator for the Alliance, Jacob is taking some time off, since his kid was born a couple months ago..."

Anna nodded, satisfied. "I am glad to hear things are going back to normal... but I still have two questions: what of the Reapers? And how much damage did the Citadel suffer with the blast?"

EDI sat down next to Joker, and began talking as she did checkups. "The Citadel itself didn't suffer much damage. The biggest energy blast damaged and tore the Crucible apart, but other than that, it was still fairly intact after the Reaper war. The damage observed was rare destruction caused by the impact of debris from the battle above Earth that hit several locations across the Wards after the arms were opened, as well as blast and explosion marks across the areas of the Citadel."

"Blast and explosion marks?!"

"The Reapers send ground forces to find and kill anyone they could inside the Citadel, but due to the enormous layout of the Wards, and the great ground they had to cover, they weren't able to capture many people; and from those that were captured, only some were converted into Reaper forces, before the Crucible blast shut them all down."

"Oh, thank God." Anna said, exhaling heavily. "At least more deaths were able to be avoided... But you guys haven't told me about the Reapers yet..."

Wrex shrugged his shoulders. "They have been quiet all this time, save for one occasion. Harbinger descended to Earth, and found a sizeable force working on clearing the wreckage around the Conduit, and he only said that the Reapers would desire to initiate diplomacy, but only if they spoke to you first..."

Anna nodded. "Noted... I will talk to them when I can, but now, I got people to visit. You guys have fun, I am going to check the rest of my crew..." Wrex headed for the compression chamber. "I am going to find Eve and tell her you are awake. I am sure she will like to hear the news." As Wrex walked out, Joker turned his chair towards the console, and Anna walked out of the bridge and into the CIC.

For the first few steps, nobody bothered to look at her, but as some did, and the mumbling commenced, heads began to turn; suddenly, Anna found herself halfway through the room with the Galaxy Map when a thunderous clapping commenced. Everyone was cheering her, and any person that was slightly aware of what happened during the Reaper War knew why. She found herself looking around her, giving thanks, shaking hands and saluting people, until she passed by Specialist Samantha Traynor.

They saluted each other with joy filled expressions, until Samantha asked Shepard: "Permission to do something out of regulation, Commander?"

"Permission granted."

Traynor threw herself forward and gave Anna a friend's hug, which Shepard wasn't able to reply to with the same confidence.

"Glad to have you back on board, Commander."

"It is good to be back, Specialist. Did I miss anything important while I was gone?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Commander, other than the fact that it is general knowledge that Harbinger wishes to speak with you first hand... other than that, I think it would be good to inform the Council and Admiral Hackett of your departure from Huerta. I am sure they would enjoy hearing that the saviour of the galaxy is back on her feet..."

"You give me a lot of credit, Samantha."

"If I may, ma'am, you stopped the Reaper's onslaught on advanced civilization as we know it... and even got them to cooperate and fix the relays... Harbinger even referred to you as the Shepard..."

"Fill my ego some more... soon they will start believing I am some sort of Goddess to them..."

Anna and Samantha chuckle along, before Shepard taps her on the shoulder and leaves to the War Room, in order to speak to the Council and Hackett through vidcom. She salutes the astonished soldiers that guard the checkpoint between the main room and the war room. She passes by the window encased room of diplomacy she had so many "happy" memories from, and heads into the circular space she spent so much time within. Saluting the crew members in that space, she goes around the holographic centre, towards the vidcom room.

She stands at attention, and salutes Hackett as soon as his holographic image is formed. "Good to see you back on your feet, Commander. I can begin to state how happy I am to see that you pulled through."

Anna smiled and nodded. "Thank you, sir."

The Admiral nodded back and pointed at her. "You are needed back out on the field, Shepard. The war is over, but with the damage to our infrastructures, it is going to take a while until we get back on our feet, years in the most realistic predictions."

"Where do you need me, sir?"

"To begin with, you will need to assemble your team back: when you had them together, the results were easily seen. After your team is set up, your first priority is finding and talking with Harbinger. The Reapers seem peaceful now, but you need to make sure that stays like that. I hope that you will tell me one day how you got them to change their behaviour."

Anna leaned a bit to the side, crossing her arms. "I actually had that in mind for the last hour or so. I will do it when I can gather everyone, my crew, the Council, you, Wrex and Eve, and whatever other people that, in my opinion, deserve to hear about this."

"Alright. Warn me when the time comes for that. Hackett out." They salute each other, and Anna walks out, heading to the elevator, in order to talk to Cortez. The old habit of opening the elevator door, choosing the destination, descending to the selected floor, and coming out of the elevator was still ingrained in her head, to the point her awareness just shut down. She noticed the elevator had already stopped and walked out.

Cortez was standing in the hangar, like every time Shepard found him. She looked around and saw the spot to the far left, where James Vega used to exercise, empty. Sighing, she walked over to Cortez, and said. "Officer on deck!" Cortez spun around and saluted by instinct, but then realized who had uttered those words, and noticed a very amused Commander. "Commander? You are back!" They shook hands. "Yes, I am. Damn well on time. If it wasn't for the coma, I doubt I could have stayed on that hospital bed for long."

"Glad to have you back, ma'am."

"I came here to check on you, and perhaps hear the story of how you survived being shot down on Earth. I mean, I saw an explosion and everything, so I am surprised to hear you are alive."

"I crashed against another vehicle, a Mako, which was already on fire, so I must have triggered the explosion of it. Thankfully, the ship protected me from the blast damage, even though it wasn't left in a very good condition." He paused to catch his breath for a second, before continuing. "I woke up still inside the ship, with just a few minor wounds, nothing that five minutes with any doctor couldn't be fixed. As I walked out, I found a team of soldiers that was supposed to scout the area after you took down the Reaper cannon. I was brought aboard the Normandy a few weeks ago, after it returned from being repaired after its unfortunate bad landing."

Anna gave out a short laugh. "The Normandy had a bad landing? Its as if Joker was asleep at that time." Through the coms, Joker's voice was heard. "I heard that, Commander." Anna looked up at the ceiling. "Are you spying on me, Joker?" The pilot scoffed. "As if I would ever do that…" She shook her head, amused.

"We'll talk later, Cortez. Glad to hear you made it out alive from the war." Cortez saluted Shepard. "Good to have you back on your feet, ma'am."

She did the same routine of entering the elevator, but this time she headed for the CIC, in order to set up a course. As she approached the Galaxy Map, she searched the location preferred and spoke. "Joker, plot a course to Palaven, but let's wait until Wrex and Eve are back on board."

"Aye, aye, Commander."

As she stepped down from the platform, Traynor tapped her shoulder. "Yes, Specialist?"

"David Anderson is available on vidcom."

Anna's eyes widen with the news. She froze in place, before her brain began to work once more, after which she sprinted across the checkpoint, ignoring the procedure of standing still for analysis.


	4. Chapter 4 - Familiar faces

Author's Comment:

I don't know if any of you thought this about the last chapter, but I do like making cliff hangers, and I am slightly evil. xD

Jokes aside, time to continue this deviation of the norm of the Mass Effect universe, my vision of a good continuation to the story of Commander (Anna) Shepard. Thank you for reading, and know that this story has just begun.

* * *

Chapter Four: Familiar faces

The two crew members at the security checkpoint were about to yell out for Shepard to come back, but they were so tired of the constant security checks, they decided to let this one slide, almost like Shepard did when dashing through the War Room, almost sliding on the metal floor. She slows down in a few steps as she reaches the vidcom room. She taps at the console and the holographic representation of David Anderson appears.

"Shepard. It is good to see you on your feet and healthy."

She stared at him, tears of joy slowly sliding down her face. "How are you alive?"

He grins, laughing lightly. "I may be getting old, but it takes a more than a beating and a gun shot in the stomach to keep me out of action."

Anna sighs, a load off her shoulders, relaxing. "I would be lying if I said that since I woke up, I wasn't worried about your fate."

"I trust your word on that."

"So are you back in action?"

"Not completely. The damage I sustained during the Reaper War left some side effects. I can only walk around if I use a cane. Still, they put me in charge of the rebuilding efforts in London."

"So, I assume you will want your apartment back?"

"No. You are a public figure that needs a place on the Citadel, due to your duties with the Council. I plan to settle down in London once it is rebuilt. Besides, Kahlee doesn't like living there."

Anna felt the Normandy jerk forward. "Wrex and Eve must be on board. So how are things with Sanders?"

"She left her earlier assignment to help the rebuilding efforts of London… and let's be honest, it is also because I am helping in the same event."

Anna smirked. "Well, I hope we get to talk some more. I have a job to do."

"You know where I am, Shepard. And go get Garrus, I am sure he misses you."

They salute each other, and Anna establishes a link to the Council member she trusts the most. The Asari councillor appears, as Anna puts her hands behind her back. "Councillor Tevos."

"Shepard, it is good to see you. How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, compared to the time I was on board of the Citadel, trying to activate the Crucible."

"So is there any particular reason you are calling?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I am back on my feet, and ready to work. I also wish to warn you that when I gather the representatives of each race I will debrief everyone as to how we ended the Reaper war. But before I do that, I have a team to assemble, and I have to find Harbinger."

"Ah, yes. The main Reaper… we find it odd that he wants to talk to you first, but at least they stopped attacking, and are even helping."

"How so?"

"Thessia was devastated, Commander, but we see Reaper ships every day, at least the smaller ones, helping to the best of their ability. Some ships even drop off supplies to help us rebuild. Whatever you did, it was worth it."

"Thank you, Councillor. Shepard out."

"Before you go, Commander, I have to let you know that your Spectre status is reactivated as of now. Good luck out there."

"And Councillor?"

"Yes, Shepard?"

"Let the Krogan have a seat in the Council. Urdnot Wrex is attempting to change their society, and his companion, Eve, has great vision."

The Asari smiled. "I will take your judgement into consideration. Also, Ambassador Dominic Osoba is now the new human councillor. Just wanted to let you know…"

Shepard walks away from the vidcom room, passing the War Room, and finds Wrex staring at the small discussion room, surrounded by walls of glass. "Remember the day, Shepard? When the discussions we had here determined the fate of many things?"

"Yeah, I do… I still wish, to this day, that I could have punched the Dalatrass in the face…"

Wrex slowly turned his head at Shepard, stared for a few seconds and then started to laugh, loudly. "I can't say I am not surprised to hear you say that, Shepard, but I it is still great. The way you looked at her at the end of the meeting, I was actually imagining you jumping over the table and clocking a right arm swing on her face."

Anna shakes her head, chuckling. "You have no idea how much I wanted to do that. If it wasn't for the fact that we need to rescue the females out of Sur'Kesh, I would most likely beat her to unconsciousness." She begins to walk away. "God damn stuck up bit-"

"Commander, we will be arriving at Palaven shortly. It is recommended you take a full body suit, as the radiation levels are harmful to non-natives."

Anna walked across the security checkpoint, being followed by Wrex. "Thank you, EDI." Anna looked back. "Are you coming, Wrex?"

"Nah. Go on and visit your Angel. I will be using the War Room with Eve to send some information to Tuchanka."

"Angel? Very funny, Wrex." The amused krogan smirked, going into the elevator first, to meet up with Eve at a lower deck. Shepard then takes the elevator up to her cabin, in order to gear up before arrival. She feels tense, putting on her suit carefully, in order to avoid the malicious effects of the radiative atmosphere of Palaven, but she was happy, she was going to see Garrus again.

"Due to traffic, we have to wait half an hour to land on Palaven, Commander. You might want to find something to distract yourself with."

"Thank you for the heads up, Joker."

Anna heads down to the crew deck, her helmet in hand, and opens the door to the med bay. "Shepard. I was wondering when you would come down here to visit me." Dr. Karin Chakwas turned around in her chair and stood up, giving Anna a warm embrace. "Good to see you back on your feet, Commander."

"You knew I was here?"

"Well, Dr. Chloe made sure I was amongst the first to hear you are here. Plus, with the CIC personnel that came down here talking about how you were back, it would be hard to miss out on the big news, even if Michel hadn't warned me. Anyway, it is good to have you back on board, Anna."

"Good to be back, Karin."

Shepard was about to walk out of the med bay, when Chakwas sat down on her seat. "Shepard… remember when you told me we would share another bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy after the war was over? Well, I hope that you comply with your oral contract."

Anna smiled, saluting Chakwas before stepping out of the med bay. Her next objective was on the other side of the ship, where Liara kept her Shadow Broker material assembled. As soon as the door was opened, she threw herself at Shepard, giving her a strong hug. "Shepard!" Anna smiled and hugged her friend back. "You seem surprised. I would think the Shadow Broker would be aware of my return to action."

"Sorry, Shepard, but I have been absorbed in my work with Javik."

Anna looked at Javik, pleased. "So you finally decided to put aside your bad habit of calling others primitives?"

"The truth is, Shepard, that I am the last of my kind. Liara made me see reason when she told me that our culture and history needed recording, so the greatness of our cycle couldn't be forgotten."

Anna glanced at Liara, thinking of how much of a smart manipulator she was.

"It has been good seeing you Commander. Is there anything you need to discuss before each of us resumes our duties?"

"No. That is all. I just wanted to check on my crew after being four months in a coma."

Javik nods, and Shepard replies in the same manner. She walks out of the room, and Javik continues to issue information to Liara, who eagerly writes it down. Still in the need of distraction, Anna walks around the back, checking the observation decks. She enters the Starboard Observation Deck, her mind drifting.

"I am honest Eve, I have grown fond of you."

Anna's mind snaps back to reality, and curiosity settles in. She looks around and sees Wrex and Eve holding hands in the left side of the room.

"Truly, Wrex?"

"Truly. At first, I saw you as a symbol of hope for our species, but with time, I realized you were much more than that. I have fallen in love with you."

"Oh, Wrex, I always knew that you were not like most krogan."

Suddenly, Wrex gains a shocked expression, one that matched Shepard's: hanging jaw, wide set eyes. Eve looks back and forth between the two and starts laughing with heart. Wrex looked at Eve and then at Anna. "Shepard, you…"

Anna laughed out loud, leaning against the wall. "Wrex, I thought I would never see the day."

"Can you keep quiet about this?"

Anna nodded. "Don't worry, I won't let anyone know you have grown soft."

Wrex exhaled out of embarrassment, which only amused Eve further. Joker then warns Shepard of their arrival on Palaven, as the traffic had cleared out faster than expected. Shepard makes her up to the CIC, as the Normandy docks in a location fit for its design, too well fitting to be a coincidence. The Commander walks out, accompanied by Liara, who decided it was best to have someone walk along with her.

The two realize that the Normandy had docked on the outside of a dome like building, which was built, unknown to Liara and Shepard, as a way to safely receive visitors of other species, before sending them to other parts of the city. They walked out of the ship, and into the security checkpoint, which included a scanner, as well as a pressurization room. They walked out of the last, after hearing an automated announcement. "You may now remove your protection gear while inside this building. Have a nice day."

As they were led to the centre of the building, they found themselves in one of the most spectacular parks ever seen. Although definitely not as large or elaborate, Shepard still felt like she was inside a miniature turian rendition of the mythicized hanging gardens of Babylon. She then looked around and saw three turians. Two males, one sitting down, and the other standing up, facing him. The third turian was female, and was sitting next to the other.

The two sitting down looked over at Shepard and their eyes immediately became locked on her. The third turian was confused at their behaviour and decided to look back. When he did, he saw the love of his life standing there, helmet barely hanging on her hand. Like when she received the announcement regarding David Anderson, her brain froze, and a few seconds later she found herself running at Garrus, dropping the helmet along the way.

Liara picked it up, smiling just like Solana and Garrus' father did, as they both held on to each other and kissed. Solana walks up to Shepard and jokes. "So you are the human responsible for stealing my brother away from home?" Anna was about to shake hands with her, but both women threw the idea out the window, as they gave each other a quick embrace.

"My name is Solana Vakarian. Nice to meet you."

"Anna Shepard."

"Believe it or not, Miss Shepard, your status as a major public figure makes some of your details, such as name, common knowledge." Garrus' dad walks up to her and gives her a quick handshake.

"Mister Vakarian."

"Don't be shy. I am glad my son has you as a companion. When I first heard that you were a Spectre, I found myself somewhat cringing at the thought… but after all your deeds during the war were revealed…" The Vakarian patriarch stands at attention, saluting Anna. "I am honoured to be in your presence." Anna salutes Garrus' dad, happy that this hurdle had been overcome. She was even surprised to find Garrus' parents to be so accepting of their relationship, but then again, not every turian was like Saren, in terms of opinions about humans.


	5. Chapter 5 - One recruited, more to go

Author's Comment:

I have a limit of four pages of content for each chapter, a limit which I barely go out of, but sometimes inspiration catches you by surprise, and I ended up writing five pages worth for the fifth chapter of this story. I hope the extra page was enough to expand upon an event that will mark the start of many new things in the galaxy.

Read and enjoy.

PS: I have plans for the future, plans that are way ahead, and while they are still far off in the distance, I would like to propose a small exercise for those of you that read this story: create a duo of Salarian scientists: names, looks, background story (could include STG). These will work aboard the Normandy, and that is all I am revealing for now. Thank you for your time. ;)

* * *

Chapter Five: One recruited, more to go

Everyone stared at Anna, as she told her story. "So there I was, my patience eroding as Gatatog Uvenk kept complaining about Grunt's lack of right to undergo the ritual to be allowed to join a clan, because he was tank born. So I did the most krogan thing anyone in that room could have done…"

"What was that?" Solana asked, definitely curious.

"I head-butted him."

Everyone burst out laughing, and Anna took a bite of her meal. Garrus couldn't help but make a remark. "No wonder half the people in clan Urdnot say you should be krogan. The only way to top that is if you give someone a head butt, with the thrust of a biotic charge."

Anna's eyes opened wide, and she then processed to stare at Archangel. "You know something? I want to try that one day… I am definitely curious…" The laugher slows down to a halt, as everyone finishes their meals.

Upon saying their goodbyes, Solana looks at Anna. "You have to leave already?"

"Yes, unfortunately I do. I have pending business to take care of. One of which involves the Reapers."

"How did you get them to cooperate, anyway?"

"I will let you know one day. But for now, I will leave that cliff hanger for you."

With a smirk, Anna turns around and puts her helmet on, walking out the door with Liara. She crossed the threshold of the shield and suddenly felt the minor increase of heat, from crossing into the atmosphere of Palaven. Garrus walks ahead of them and enters the sky car that would help them reach the port, where Normandy was decked, a whole lot faster.

"It is amazing how quickly Palaven has recovered, Garrus." Liara says, looking out the window.

"We are a long way from rebuilding. We just decided to focus on rebuilding this town first, in order to have somewhere habitable and controlled. A command post of sorts, if you will."

Anna saw the buildings pass by, and the entire city looked the same: organized, clean and untouched. Part of Palaven was undergoing reconstruction, but most of it was still a pile of rubble that needed clearing. Anna couldn't witness this, as her visit to Garrus' homeworld kept her to the limits of one of three fully rebuilt cities in the entire globe.

They arrived at the port quickly, and don't lose time to enter the ship. Garrus stops by to greet Joker and EDI, as Anna turns to him. "So, as I assume, you will head to the room of the main battery. I am going to find Wrex and Eve, to get a question out of my head."

Garrus looks at her, feigning surprise. "It is amazing how you know me so well."

Anna smirks, looking at Joker. "Set a course for Tuchanka."

"Aye aye, Commander."

Garrus stays, while Anna leaves, heading for the War Room. There he finds Wrex, who was tapping away at the holographic console in front of him. "Shepard, you didn't take long down there. Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah… do you think Grunt will want to get back to the Normandy?"

"I doubt it. We are rebuilding, bringing Tuchanka back to its former glory. We have even called for Salarian aid to fix the Shroud and start replanting. I mean, he prefers to fight and charge head first into war, but Tuchanka has grown on him, so I doubt he would leave that easily… where are we going, anyway?"

"I am headed to Tuchanka… I doubt I can convince Grunt to join, due to what you told me, but while we are on the way, I might as well drop you and Eve off on it."

"Thanks, Shepard. If you want to see Eve, she is down in the Crew Deck, probably talking to the doctor… Chakwas has been observing her health for as long as we are on the Normandy."

"Any complications?"

"None. Mordin's cure even set her own body to equilibrium. Eve is as healthy as a krogan can be."

Anna sighed. "I miss Mordin…"

Wrex smiled. "He is probably running experiments and cataloguing everything that moves, wherever the heck he is now…"

Anna chuckles and decides to end their conversation there, heading for the elevator. She exits at the Crew Deck, just as Eve leaves the medbay. "Ah, Shepard. Glad to see you here. I wanted to tell you that I hope we could go to Tuchanka soon. I would like you to see the progress of our rebuilding efforts."

"As a matter of fact, we are headed to Tuchanka right now. Not only do I drop you off, but I also try to recruit Grunt back into the ship, although Wrex told me that prospect has an unlikely success."

"Glad to hear it, but why do you want Grunt here?"

"Apart from the ingrained wish to have some of my old team back, having a ship with members of every species could make Normandy seem as a diplomatic ship, when the needed situation for that would arise."

"I understand. Well, Grunt might not help you, but someone else may. When we get down on the planet, you will see him."

For the next couple hours, Anna would visit Garrus at the Main Battery, dissuade him from working on the guns, and then invite him for some private sparring in the her own private room. Half an hour before they would reach Tuchanka, Anna walks out of her bedroom, where she left a very happy Garrus, and went to the Crew Deck to eat. There she began to prepare her own meal, and one for Garrus, who said earlier he would join her soon.

"Need help with that?"

Anna jumped to the side, startled. She then exhaled. "God damn it, Kasumi. You scared me…" Shepard then looks back at Goto, with an expression of surprise. "How did you get on board?!"

"I have been here since the Citadel, but I like to play hide and seek, as well as just hide… and when I mean just hide, I am talking about 'borrowing' things from others." She smiles as she fades into invisibility. "Good to see you up and about, Shepard."

Anna was still startled, but deep down, she was amused at Kasumi's never changing behaviour. She prepared the meals quickly enough for Garrus to arrive at the same time as his was completed. "Smells good. I thought you despised cooking."

"It shows how much I care about you."

"If you are willing to do things you despise for my love, then I would love to see you learn how to dance."

She gave him a cold stare as they both sat down on the table, across from each other. "I am not that strong willed."

Garrus laughs and gains a strong sarcastic tone. "Oh, sure. Learning how to dance is a demanding task, much more than facing a Reaper head on and avoiding his beam."

The arrival on Tuchanka was swift, but this time, they would descend down to the planet surface on a shuttle, with Cortez at the controls. She brought Garrus with him, as well as Wrex and Eve, who were both eager to return to work on their home planet.

When the doors opened before them, it was not the clean and well cared landing pad that surprised Anna, but what was after that. The city of the ancients was being rebuilt, and it was well on its way, girders, boxes, workers, tools, all these in plenty quantity. But something else stood out: the green. The flora of Tuchanka was spreading wide and fast.

"Amazing…" Anna and Garrus were both astonished at the differences between the Tuchanka of old memories, and that of the one they saw in front of them. Garrus looked at Wrex as they began to walk towards one of the central buildings, where they planned to hold an assembly. "You are recovering quickly."

"We promised help to the other species." Eve explained, revealing their master plan. "If we make this planet habitable and a great home for our kind, we promised to bring our numbers to help the others. Due to this, the Salarians and the Asari are bringing a good deal of help. The Shroud has been repaired, thanks to Reaper help as well, and the planet is recovering quickly. We believe that we will undo a lot of the damage in the course of a year, after which we plan to bring the bulk of our forces to help repair other shattered home worlds. We understand what the other races did to us in the past… at least some krogan don't hold a grudge… but Wreav… he might be a problem."

"Wreav is alive?" Anna said, looking at Eve.

Wrex chuckled. "I noticed the tone of disappointement."

"In all honesty, Wrex, if Kalros didn't get him, I am pretty sure one of us will end him soon… I confess that even I felt my trigger finger getting itchy when in his presence…"

The meeting starts an hour later, and Garrus is positioned in one of the higher balconies, as part of Wrex's idea, just in case things get out of hand. Guarding the entrance to this balcony, are two soldiers of the Aralakh company, the two most loyal ones to Grunt, who hasn't left his position as their leader since he was placed.

"Krogan! We are here gathered, to hold an important meeting between the clans, to debate one important topic: revenge on the Salarians and the Turians." Wrex said, making at least a third of the audience cheer, leaving the remainder attentive, as they knew something more was to be said.

"We cannot act revenge upon them. War always brought misery upon us as a whole species, and in the current state of the galaxy, it would be wrong to take advantage of their weakness. They put their grudges aside, and even began helping us repair our homeworld." Eve stopped for a split second and pointed at Shepard, standing at her right. "Shepard united all kinds to fight the Reapers, and showed everyone that putting our grudges aside and working for a common goal is when this galaxy brings out the best out of itself."

Wreav gets up from his seat. "Then we are just going to let those hyperactive frogs and pointy platted birds get away with what they did to us?"

Eve was quick to retort, but her word was cut short by someone else that had just arrived. "Even though ruining our reproduction was wrong, an ethical crime, you cannot hold a grudge against the mistakes we did, and the mistakes their ancestors did. The Genophage was brought upon us due to the krogan's violence. They had no control, and never looked for it. Us krogan were always a self-righteous species that still needed some evolution before being able to be called a civilized species. And let us not forget, these mistakes were done by those that are now dead. Today's generations of each species are even trying to compensate for the mistakes of their ancestors."

Many krogan gasped as a towering individual of their kind, bearing dark purple armour, stepped into the room. Anna stared at him and exclaimed. "Kier?"

Wrex stared at Anna. "You know him?"

The purple krogan walked across the middle aisle and stopped next to Wreav, giving him a threatening grin. "Hello, Wreav. We will talk later…" He kept walking and looked at Anna. "Yes, Shepard, it is me, Warlord Kier."

Anna looked at Eve. "Is this him?" Eve nodded, clearly smiling under her tunic.

Eve pointed at Kier. "This is Warlord Kier, member of the extinct Clan Borgon. Mastermind and legend of the Krogan Rebellions. His mind is one of evolution." She began pacing left and right. "Kier seeks the best for the future of the krogan, going to the point of thinking our current culture is largely outdated and too violent. His ideas for reforms and changes are radical, but not without reason or benefits."

Anna smirked, as she walked down and gave Kier a handshake. "Good to see you out of Omega, Kier."

The krogan shrugs. "It was getting really boring, putting up with Aria's requests. I decided to give up working for her, and come to my homeworld."

"But you came after the genophage was cured."

"The Salarians developed a vaccine, made from the basis of Mordin Solus' work, for us krogan that were outside of Tuchanka at the time the cure was spread. I am fine, now." He then looks back at Wreav. "I do not like to hold a grudge, but I still want to see your head rolling on the floor, split from its body!"

Anna looked at Wreav, and then at Kier. "What happened?"

Kier gained a stance of rage. "Almost three hundred years ago, he attracted my entire clan to the Hollows, with the promise of peace talks and unifying for a better future for the krogan. That was my idea at the time, one that Wrex did well in putting in motion through Clan Urdnot. When we arrived there, we were ambushed by him and his men. Every single member of clan Borgon was killed, except me."

Many krogan start to yell insults at Wreav, due to his disrespect of the laws held sacred by many of his kind. Shepard steps forward and puts on her helmet. Garrus is seeing the entire situation through the scope of his rifle, and his gut tells him something good is about to happen, making him smile with expectation.

Anna performs a biotic charge, hitting Wreav in the head with the top part of her helmet, sending him flying back a few meters. Wreav gets up, putting his hand on his head plate, feeling it cracked, even more so at the spot where Shepard collided with him. He began to charge at Shepard, only to be dead stopped by a swing of a hammer, which suddenly appeared from behind Shepard, who ducked at the command of Kier.

Wreav was astonished, and was being dragged out by his ankle, by Warlord Kier, and the help of a few more krogan males. Kier pronounced a few words before the doors closed behind him. "The krogan need change, a good deal of it, and we will start with disposing of those that cling to the old ways with tooth and nail!"

Cheers echo through the building, all while Garrus is smiling, no longer guarded by Grunt's two most loyal soldiers, as these had already joined him in the balcony to watch the show develop. He decides to radio Anna. "Good job there. That was quite the entertaining way to start a social revolution." Shepard can't help to grin with a sense of pride and satisfaction at the intervention that took place.


	6. Chapter 6 - An energetic discussion

Author's Comment:

Hello everyone. I have been getting a lot of ideas to add to the story, and I can't seem to get them out fast enough, and with my inability to post on weekends, I feel like I am cringing here. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. xD

PS: The request for two Salarian characters, made in the author's comment of chapter five is to be ignored, as plans have been changed.

* * *

Chapter Six: An energetic discussion

Grunt walked up to Shepard, resting his hand on her right shoulder. "So you got a taste for it after Gatatog Uvenk?" Anna laughed. "Yeah, I did. And honestly, Wreav is a pain in the ass. I wish Kalros hadn't missed..." Grunt chuckled. "He got out of the vehicle when he saw Kalros coming towards him... that is what I heard at least..."

Warlord Kier returns, the door closing behind him. As he walks up to the podium, Wrex asks the question everyone has in their minds. "What happened to Wreav? Did you kill him?"

Kier shook his head. "No, I didn't. I spoke of a new future for the krogan, and I meant it. I would be a hypocrite to condemn the violence of my own kind if I started our steps towards a new future with an act of violence of such kind."

Grunt sneers. "This old fossil is growing soft. Why do we want him helping build our new future?" Everyone laughs, even Kier, who punches Grunt in the shoulder.

"This doesn't mean I won't fight when there is need to. The first chance we get for battle, I will show you how soft you are compared to me."

Grunt nodded, amused, and was quick to reply. "I will hold you to that deal. I want to see how the legends of the krogan rebellions fight."

Kier glances at him. "There is a reason we are called legends, child." He walks up to the podium, and looks at the representatives of the clans present. "To all of you, our future will need revolutions, big ones! To begin with, I propose that we dissolute the clans, and form a single government under which all krogan unite."

A krogan female stands up in the middle of the crowd. "What about our traditions? What will our children fight for, if not for belonging to a clan?" Many in the crowd nod or mumble, agreeing with her idea.

Shepard walks up to the podium and doesn't waste one second in pitching her own idea, resting her helmet on the floor. "Why not adulthood? Instead of fighting to join a clan, the ritual they will need to face will be simply to be accepted as an adult of their society."

The female stares at Anna and nods, sitting down, pleased. But soon enough, another krogan stood up. "Why should we split up the clans? Who says that a new system will help us?"

Wrex yelled, in anger. "Have you seen what the war forced us to do? Unite. We fought alongside humans, turians, salarians, asari, batarians... every single known race in the galaxy fought on Earth to give Shepard a chance to activate the Crucible, and look where we are now, free of the Reaper threat! If we can do amazing things together, why shouldn't the krogan unite?!"

The male krogan sits down, grumbling, defeated and convinced, but still  
annoyed his argument got shot down so quickly.

Another krogan stood up, but his posture was calm, which in turn eased the tensed expressions of everyone standing at the podium. "I have a question. How will the Council stand in the creation of our own fleets?"

Everyone looked at Shepard, who rubbed the back of her neck. "I am not sure. Perhaps things will change, and the Council will allow for you to build your own fleets, but that is a question I cannot answer right now; none of us can."

The krogan uttered a simple "Thank you." and sat back down, keeping an attentive posture for the development of the meeting. Eve's gaze covered the entirety of the crowd, and she uttered a question: "Does anyone here have any more doubts or questions to ask?"

Shepard groaned and looked at Eve. "I do..." The entire audience stared at her, and Eve became nervous, which Anna was quick to notice. "The krogan birth rate... you may think the Genophage was a cure, but remember what happened in the krogan rebellions or the rachni wars: your fast breeding rate became a problem, simply because you were out of control..."

Some people in the crowd started to utter insults and yell at Shepard, until Kier intervened, with a thunderous roar that silenced every voice in the room. "Silence! The human has a point. Unless we learn measures of self control, we will be in the risk of repeating history... I am sure if we think carefully on this matter, we can find an answer to our problem..." He glanced at Eve, after he saw Shepard staring at her non-stop. Eve was fiddling with her hands, nervous. "Eve, is there something on your mind?"

She nodded. "Yes, there is. Before the genophage, I was considered a female unfit for reproduction... I was considered a mutant, as I could only bear twenty children a year, instead of a thousand. This was one of the reasons that drove me to being a Shaman. But then, with the genophage, that discrimination was set aside, as being able to bear children was good enough, no matter the amount... Mordin elaborated a cure using samples from me and Wrex..."

She rested her hands on the platform of the podium, afraid of how the audience might react. "After the cure was dispersed, scientists and doctors ran tests in the closest population, in order to know how our health stood, and a Salarian messenger asked to see me in private, a smart decision at the time, as the general knowledge of what I am going to tell you could have dreadful repercussions." She raised her head, taking a deep breath. "One of the unexpected side effects of Mordin's cure altered the krogan species itself... we can no longer produce more than twenty children a year..."

Voices claiming treason and Salarian interference rose through the heights of the dome shaped room, all while Garrus was in his sniper perch, the balcony, visibly nervous, just like the two krogan next to him, who were also getting apprehensive with the atmosphere of hostility below. In the midst of these yells, were only males: the females themselves were calm, contemplating on these news with acceptance."

A gun shot was heard, and everyone looked at Grunt, who had fired his shotgun to the ceiling, in order to keep things calm. "Be quiet! Shepard wishes to speak!" Once more, all gazes were focused on Shepard, who had a stern expression. Two females came to Eve to comfort her, and keep her calm.

"Don't you see this might be a blessing in disguise? Before you all go rambling, claiming treason, I knew Mordin as a friend, and I am sure he didn't mean to sabotage the genophage in such a way. It was simply a side effect he didn't cause. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew of it and just didn't share the discovery, but I am pretty sure he wouldn't tamper with his own work, less would he commit such an abominable act. It was something that couldn't be controlled. And believe it or not, it might be the answer to your problems of overpopulation!"

Voices suddenly start to rise, but Kier growled. "What would you idiots prefer? Facing a future of extinction? Or be able to produce at least twenty children? Be grateful that this scientist I heard of tried to repair the damage done by his own ancestors to all of us krogan, with little he could do, even if it is just twenty children a year, instead of just leaving us to die! Stop being self centred, and think of what he did for you!"

A krogan male stepped out of the seats, passing by Grunt and looking at the council, which was just a few meters away. "What did he do for us, then? He cured the genophage, but you seem to be holding something from us!" Anna did a biotic charge, stopping a few centimetres from the krogan, and yelling in his face. "He sacrificed his own life to make sure the cure would be dispersed! The Shroud was damaged, and dispersing the cure was going to destroy the facility, but he made sure the building stood long enough for your kind to regain what you lost. It did not hold long enough for him to get out! I lost a friend that day, one that sacrificed his own life for an entire species!"

At this point, Anna was trembling, her face filled with tears, and then she collapsed, crying audibly, punching the ground, damning the universe that Mordin's sacrifice fixed only one of the problems that plagued krogan society. Kier was quick to step out of the podium and run up to the krogan male Anna faced, staring him down. "Go back to your seat, unless you want a fate worse than Wreav's..."

The male was quick to reply. "Wasn't he left alive?"

Kier chuckled, with a menacing frown forming in his face. "Yes, but we didn't leave him conscious after we were done with him." As the male sat back down, Kier roared his short speech. "We have a new future now. Mistakes were made, events out of control transpired, but I am proud to say that we have fixed our main issue, one that could have started new wars. Rejoice that these accidents happened, that we have a chance do to what is right." He helped Anna stand up. "And you all make me sick: it had to be a human, followed by her team of non-krogan, to come here and fight for our future, when many of you were too focused on your own fatalism to even try and do something about it..."

Anna gave a thankful smile at Kier, who replied the gesture with the same kindness. Suddenly, the doors of the back of the room burst open, and an Asari Commando came running. "Uncle!"

Anna looked confused. "Uncle?!"

Kier explained, to everyone listening. "My brother had a relationship with an asari consort nearly two hundred years ago, and Aniena here was the product of that union. And I am damn proud of how she turned out in life."

The Asari snorted. "That is because I became a warrior, just like you and dad." Kier shrugged, confessing, in a way, that what she said was true.

"So what brings you here, Aniena? Weren't you overseeing some of the recovery efforts near the Shroud?" Kier said, looking at her in confusion.

"Not anymore. The Dalatrass has sent a team of Salarian commandos into the facility, in hopes of releasing a new genophage." Mumbling and murmurs spread across the attending audience, and Wrex intervenes. "Knowing Salarian politics as they are, I am sure this is an independent move of her doing, but completely separate from the intentions of her government."

Anna gains a grim expression. "The Dalatrass has always been a spoiled child in a body of an adult... you know something, Wrex?" He nods, asking her to continue. "I take back what I said... I didn't wish I could have beaten the Dalatrass when we met her... I wish I could have shot her..." Wrex isn't amused, as he knew these words came with severity.

Garrus leaves his post, and joins Anna as she walks outside with Aniena. "By the way... Shepard... someone from your crew, her name was EDI, I think... she asked me to tell you that she and Liara are working on figuring out if this was a plan by the Salarian government or not..."

Anna glanced at Aniena, and smiled. "EDI never disappoints..."

"But how can they find out or not if it is?"

Anna quickly fires another question. "I can't let you know if you are not part of the crew of the Normandy..."

"Well, my uncle said that I could tag along with him once you were going to leave, so I guess I am going to be part of it..."

Anna looks around, and finding out that nobody is around, only far off in the distance, she whispers to Aniena. "First of all, EDI, she is the ship's AI, and second, Liara? She is a high level information broker... she is really good at entering systems and private correspondence, in order to get what we need to know..."

Impressed, Aniena follows Anna and Garrus as they head to the Shroud, and are soon reached by Eve and Wrex. EDI reaches Shepard, and she is quick to tap her ear piece. "What is it, EDI?"

"Shepard, the Dalatrass has made this her own personal vendetta against the disrespect of her wishes... I am quoting this from the datapad with her personal correspondence that Liara just gave me. The Salarian government has nothing to do with this issue."

"Can you find us a way in?"

"Of course. I will forward an objective point to you now..."

"Thanks, EDI." Anna then looks back at Wrex. "Your suspicions were correct. The Dalatrass has made this issue personal... she just doesn't realize that she managed to annoy more people than just the krogan..." Finishing her sentence, Shepard pulls her M-96 Mattock from her back, and picks up the pace, heading to the side of the Shroud, in order to find the entry point to it.


	7. Chapter 7 - New Genophage

Author's Comment:

Hello, everyone. Here is another chapter of this story. Even feeling ill, I decided to give it some work and cleaning, before posting. The few of you that added this work of fiction to your favourite and follow lists deserve it, as well as any new fans of it that may appear in the future. I hope you enjoy.

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Chapter Seven: New Genophage

Anna decided to move at a quick step speed, nearly running, and crossed the few hills that separated the spot she descended from to the hidden entrance to the side of the Shroud facility. Upon reaching it, they go up the steps and Garrus immediately works on hacking the door.

The faces of the three are full of apprehension. They knew this needed to be done right, or else they could trigger the release of the genophage, and nobody wanted to see a war when we are still recovering from the last one.

Garrus opened the door and drew his gun immediately, letting Shepard take point. EDI directed them through the facility. Apparently it was populated with scientists still, the same wish were quick to let the trio know that the problem was in the final floors, in the main control room, the one that mimicked the which Mordin died in.

Moving up the structure, and reaching the same room where Shepard had lastly seen Mordin alive, they are warned by EDI that Wrex and Eve were currently attempting to keep the Dalatrass entertained. Anna only said one thing: "Good." The place they were in only brought memories, and they weren't pleasant.

They got on the elevator, and rode up, confused as to why they had found no resistance, until they find the culprits behind the whole event: two Salarians in commando like gear, most likely STG personnel.

"Step away from the console!" Anna yelled, her Mattock already aimed and ready.

The two Salarians were arguing until then, and they both looked at Shepard, one of them directing himself at her. "Commander Shepard. Glad you are here. You must understand that we have no way of avoiding this. These orders came from the Dalatrass herself."

"So you are going to condemn an entire species because of the wishes of a power hungry and childish leader?"

"What do you want us to do? Disobey and risk putting our own lives at stake? You don't know what happens to traitors in our society."

Anna looked at Garrus, who in turn looked back, nodding, as if they had the same idea. "How about this: join me. I am putting together a team on my ship, a representation of a true galactic society, with members of every species working together. What do you say?"

The scientist that stepped forward looked back at his friend, whom was at the console, dangerously close to its controls. "Will that keep us safe? I don't want to disobey orders, thinking I am safe, only to find myself being dragged out of your ship by STG personnel."

Anna nodded. "You have my word that no harm will come to you."

The Salarian nodded and put his gun away, stepping forward, shaking hands with the trio. "My name is Kian Psey. But my friends like to kall me Kips... it's a mix of the two first letters of-"

Anna raises her hand. "We get it, don't worry. So... Kips... is your friend going to join us?"

Kips looks back at the console. "Niven, step away from there and let's go away, come on!"

"I can't do that. If we leave, we will leave the problem of the krogan unsolved!"

Everyone raised their weapons, and Anna stepped forward slightly. "The krogan will no longer be a problem! We found out that one of the side effects of Mordin's cure was the diminished size of offspring each krogan female can bare."

Garrus pushed Kips slowly, and out of the line of fire, before the salarian begun asking questions. "What do you mean, diminished size?"

Garrus look at him, dead in the eyes. "Each female krogan can only bear twenty children now... I don't exactly recall why that happened, but apparently, it happened... it should help fix the problem of over population that many have been talking about."

"Who says you aren't just lying to me and Kips to stop us from releasing the genophage?"

Kips sighs and rests lays his hand on his face. "Because I am the one that compiled all the information on the krogan fertility rates... The only reason I agreed to do this is my ease of access to the site and my fear for the consequences of refusal to work for the Dalatrass..."

Anna rested her hand on Kips' shoulder, sympathetic, and then turned her head towards Niven. "I swear to God that if I hear one more word about the Dalatrass, I will track her down myself and execute her. I am tired of putting up with her crap..."

Niven looks at Kips and then back at the trio. "I cannot run the risk of you being right." He begins to tap away at the console, and Aniena unloads three rounds on his back. He cringes and barely is able to stand, collapsing to the floor after pressing one final button. Kips rushes over to him. "Why did you do it?!"

Coughing heavily, Niven is barely able to utter the words: "Because the krogan cannot be controlled..." With a final blood filled cough, Niven goes limp, his head turning to the side. Kips begins to mumble some sort of last rites and closes his friend's eyes.

Anna looks out the window and sees the dispersal commencing. She punches the table and curses the heavens for everything, before looking at the three people next to her. "Alright people, we need to move. It is best if we get down there and help Wrex and Eve face whatever situation is going on."

They take the elevator down and are quick to go through the entire facility and to the front door, passing by many confused scientists and krogan. There, Wrex and Eve were standing in front of a confused crowd of krogan. Eve takes point in facing Anna. "What happened up there? Why is Kips with you?"

"Kips was forced to work with the STG commando, under threats from the Dalatrass. We convinced Kips to stand down by allowing him to join our team on the Normandy. The commando, however, didn't think we were telling him the truth about the krogan's new reduced birth rate, and decided to go ahead and begin the spread. We shot him, but it was too late..."

Some krogan begin to get restless, and Wrex smirks. "I am sure it won't take long before some of these scientists can come up with something new to fix this issue. I have trust in the goodness of their hearts, and..."

All of a sudden, Grunt, Kier, and a bunch of other krogan appear behind Anna and her team. She glances at them. "What were you guys doing in there?"

Grunt stepped forward. "We got some help from EDI. She told us where to go to help fix this issue, and we fixed the issue."

"What does that mean?" Was what Anna asked, the same question lingering on everyone else's minds.

Kier chuckled, shaking Grunt by the shoulder. "For a youngling, Grunt here had a pretty good idea." Kier puts down his hammer and rests his hands on it. "We broke the pipes."

Wrex's eyes widen. "What?"

Grunt nodded. "We went to the room that had the samples of the new genophage and we just went krogan crazy on them. There was a lot of breaking, twisting, laughing, charging, and perhaps a small bit of ryncol for each one of us."

Everyone was astonished at the news, but quickly the krogan began to laugh, along with Anna and Garrus, leaving Aniena and Kips happy with the development, but not as festive, as they did not share the cultural spirit of violence with the krogan, like Shepard and Vakarian did.

Anna cleaned away a tear. "To think that a krogan's violent tendency actually helped save their species... unbelievable." Shepard then remembered something. "Wait, you guys seriously consumed ryncol?"

Kier nodded. "I got a good stash of it that I never separate myself from. I drink a glass of that every morning to help me wake up, just like you humans do with coffee."

Anna then gave out a loud sigh. "Thank God that issue got solved quickly. I wouldn't have to have a charging crowd of mad krogan near me any day..."

Kier chuckles as Grunt tells his story. "This reminds me of the time I did my rite of passage. At the end, Gatatog Uvenk came up to us to try and convince me to join his clan... so, like any smart krogan, I decided to fight him. The fight ended with me charging him against a pillar and shooting him point blank." Kier shakes his head. He knew such violence seemed unnecessary, but he understood it. He never liked Uvenk, to be honest.

"Wrex, how many people on Tuchanka know now of the Dalatrass' plan to release the genophage?" Anna asked, trying to reach EDI through her omni-tool.

"Not many. The news only spread locally, why?"

"EDI, patch me through to the local areas where the news are likely to have spread..."

Two hours later, Anna, Garrus, Aniena, Kips and Kier are saying their goodbyes to those most dear to them. Eve and Shepard hold hands and state friendly words to each other, marks of a friendship born and strengthened in war. "I hope you return one day, Shepard. Tuchanka seems a lot brighter when you are around."

Anna smirked and whispered. "I might one day, want to know why?" Eve gives a quick and silent nod. "Garrus once made a joke of adopting and raising krogan after the war was over..." Anna shrugs her shoulders. "Who knows? It might happen..." Eve laughed. "It would be great to have you helping educate the new generations, I can tell you that... now, safe travels..."

Grunt and Kier were sharing puns and friendly insults back and forth, before the Warlord began to walk towards the shuttle. When he did, Grunt yelled: "Remember, you fossil, that you still have to show me how to fight, one day. The party back in the Shroud didn't count!" Kier laughed with heart and waved, sitting down in the shuttle, next to Kips. While Aniena sat in the front with Cortez, leaving Anna and Garrus standing.

Kips then looked at Anna. "So, is there a place for me in the Normandy?" Anna nodded. "Yes, there is. As a matter of fact, the ship was polished and finished during and after the war. We now have a lab where you can work in peace. The ship has a lot of room for everyone, don't worry."

Kips then begins to pace back and forth in the small space provided, letting Garrus sit down. "What shall I research, then? Are there any pending needs for breakthroughs?" Anna shakes her head. "As of now, no... But there is one thing I think you could begin with..."

Everyone looks at Anna with curiosity. "I was thinking... perhaps we could start researching Quarian immunization... research and create health boosters, to allow them more freedom. The suits have become part of their culture, and will be necessary to keep them safe and healthy when outside their own planet... so why not investigate into some equipments or medical last resorts, in case their suits get punctured? Something to keep them safe until repairs can be done..."

Kips nods. "It is a good idea. Honourable and practical. Will definitely help relations with the Quarian strengthen. I will get to work on it right away, although I would need biological samples from a Quarian to begin my work."

Anna nodded, smirking. "Don't worry. We will be having one joining us soon, if I am not wrong." Kips gave her a curious look. "We are going to get an old friend of ours to join us. At least I hope she will."

"Who is this friend of yours?"

"Tali'Zorah."

Anna then looked over at Kips and wondered. "Hey, Kips, how did busting up the storage room stop the genophage from being spread?"

"The dispersal system copies and places the small molecules of whatever is necessary to spread, inside those sand coloured flakes you saw in the atmosphere… so basically, the atmosphere was simply filled with empty 'capsules' with nothing in them…"


	8. Chapter 8 - A surprising development

Author's Comment:

I do not have much to say about this chapter. I decided to approach certain aspects the games haven't reached, like the Quarians. You will see, just read on. Enjoy.

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Chapter Eight: A surprising development

Garrus went up the elevator, and when he reached the intended floor, he heard faded music. Upon opening the door to Anna's private chambers, he heard intense instruments, and a man of refined voice, singing about something called New York. Anna was prancing around and about, mimicking the lyrics of the song to a hair brush.

Shepard turns around, really into the music, and notices Garrus, freezing in place. "Shepard? I thought I would never see this side of you." Anna gave out a small chuckle, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Are you blushing? I would never expect such a girlish behaviour from you…" She punches him in the shoulder, with a smirk. "So what were you listening to?"

Anna reduced the volume of the music. "I was listening to Frank Sinatra… the song is called New York, New York."

Garrus starts paying attention to the music. His gaze becoming inattentive. "Seems a mix between an upbeat music and what you humans would call classic…"

"You listen to human music?"

"Well, I sometimes surf the extranet and try to find out if your species has anything good… every music genre has its perks, but I have to say, what you call rock and roll has got a lot of interesting selections…"

"Well, if you must know, Frank Sinatra has been one of my favourites when growing up. It is a taste I got from my dad… you want to know how old this particular song is?"

"I would guess between prehistoric and very old…" Garrus said, making Anna chuckle.

"It was released in 1977. In other words, over two centuries ago… by now, the bones of the singer are turning to dust…"

"Over two hundred years ago…" Garrus then shakes his head, amused. "He must be really good. I mean, two hundred years later, and someone is still listening to him… hell, that someone passed on his legacy to an alien… I consider that a win…"

"I am pretty sure he didn't have that in mind… although it is pretty awesome…" Anna turns off the sound system and puts away her air brush, and stares at Garrus. "So, you wanted something?"

"Well, it is getting late, I need some shut eye, you need some shut eye, and last time I heard, you got a bed… so I say it would be good to put it to use…"

She gets closer to him, acting all seductive. "Are you trying to flirt with me, Mister Vakarian?"

He shakes his head. "I am genuinely tired."

She exhales, slouching. "Oh, thank God. You can't imagine how much I am as well…"

Garrus stays confused for half a second, before laughing out loud. "Then why were you playing so seductive with me?"

She gives him a kinky look. "Because I like to please my man, plus they say that such activities have benefits… so I was willing to make the effort…"

They talk for half an hour, while Shepard gets ready to sleep, and Garrus puts on his sleeping clothes, in order to not damage the fabric of the bed or hurt Shepard when they sleep together. They keep chatting for a few more minutes, even under the covers. As she turns her back to him, so they can snuggle together, Garrus pulls her in close by her waist, and whispers in her ear, with the low tone voice that sends shivers up her spine.

"Shepard?"

"Hmm?" She said, nearly dozing off.

"Will you marry me?"

Her eyes suddenly open wide, and she turns to him, smiling. "Yes, of course."

She rests her head, leaving her forehead to rest in his jaw plate, and both drift to sleep, happy.

The next day, Shepard walks out of the elevator, in order to get a medical report on the crew's health state from Chakwas, and runs into Jeff Moreau, who had left the men's restroom, after taking a long shower. "Joker, hey."

"Hey there, Commander. What's up?"

"Nothing much, just came here to talk to Chakwas. It is weird to see you out of your seat."

"Well, I needed a shower, so… yeah… anyway, I left the ship overnight heading for Rannoch. We should be arriving there in a couple hours."

"How did you leave it overnight?"

"I left it on auto pilot…"

"By that, you mean EDI was left in charge…"

"Yeah, pretty much."

She pats him on the shoulder as he enters the elevator. Shepard moves towards the medical bay, complimenting Aniena on the way there. She finds Kier putting his feet down and getting off the medical bed. "I have to say, Kier, that you are an astonishing specimen of the krogan. How old are you, really?"

"What year is it? Is it 2187?"

"Yes, we are in March of 2187…"

"Well, then I am 1886 years old… I was born one year or so after the Rachni were declared extinct…"

"Amazing…" Dr. Chakwas looks back and smiles. "Shepard. Glad to see you. Can I help you with anything?"

Shepard pounded fists with Kier as he walked out, and she leaned against one of the medical beds. "Yes, I am just here to assess the health of my crew. What is the overall status?"

"Absolutely healthy. Krogan? As healthy as they can be… Liara and Aniena are completely clean and nothing to worry about. Moreau has been receiving medicine, breakthrough kind, which allows to strengthen his bones; although they don't become as resistant as a standard human bone, it is still a hell of a lot better than what he had before taking his medication…"

Anna stared at her, and she continued. "The Salarian and the Turian are doing well, no signs of illnesses or anything that could worry me. The humans aboard this ship are doing very well, so far so good… and that is it…"

"What about Javik?"

"He seems to be well? But I do not know the first thing about Prothean health care… so you are asking the wrong person about that…"

Anna nods and thanks Chakwas before leaving, heading to the mess, in order to prepare her own breakfast. As she starts making it, a sudden chill goes up her back, as a certain turian whispers in her ear, in that low tone she loved so much. "Good morning, Anna."

"Hey, Garrus. Want me to prepare something for you?"

"I can handle it, I had something in mind to eat this morning, anyway." He walks around and starts preparing a turian meal. "So, have you told anyone of your agreement to marriage?"

"I got all day to do that, heck, I know you, and I am sure you aren't in a hurry… besides, I want Tali to help me prepare everything…"

"Why Tali?"

"Well, in human culture, women have female best friends who can help them with preparing a wedding ceremony, and Tali just happens to be that kind of friend. Liara is more on the logical and hard data side, while Tali clings more to the emotional side. I will have both helping me, if I can, but I prefer to have Tali in charge."

"Fair enough. Why is Tali the more emotional one?"

"Well… this may seem a bit ridiculous, but she is a hardcore fan of Fleet and Flotilla…"

"How hardcore?"

"The kind of hardcore that used to watch the movie every time she had a sleepover with her friends…"

Garrus chokes on his drink and starts laughing in between gasps of air. "She did that?" Anna nodded, leaving Garrus only further amused.

A while later, Cortez is crossing into Rannoch atmosphere, being directed to a landing port. The landing pad they enter is sealed in, and as soon as they get out, they hear instructions through speakers to put on their suits. They do so, and quickly head into a room where the environment is sterilized and they are told to not remove their suits, unless in areas specified for this. As they would learn, Rannoch became a bubble for the Quarians themselves, not allowing for outside species to spread any bacteria that might proliferate in their biosphere.

A Quarian, bearing his suit, comes out of the control checkpoint and shakes hands with Anna, Liara and Aniena. "Good to have you on Rannoch, Commander. I am sorry that you have to undergo all these proceedings, but we can't give an exception to anyone."

Shepard raises her hand. "It is alright. I know that the health of your own people hangs in the balance of this, I understand."

The Quarian nodded and waved, telling them to follow him. As they did, they went through a series of hallways, where everyone wore suits, as it was customary of the proceedings involving receiving off-world members. They walked outside after a few minutes, and the sun bathed them, it was pleasantly warm, and Anna wished she could feel it on her face, to remove her helmet.

The Quarian security officer leads them to a sky car lot, where they picked a vehicle, sitting down in it. Suddenly, an automatic voice filled the vehicle. "Rannoch's current government would like to remind you that breaking isolation from your own suits is against public rules and security. Please remain within them for the well-being of others. Have a nice day."

As soon as the voice stops, Anna starts tapping away at the controls, and directions are asked, to which Anna replies quickly. "Tali'Zorah vas…" She was unsure. With the changing of the circumstances in which the Quarian people now lived, she didn't know what to call Tali. But the VI was quick to clear the doubt, although not with that purpose.

"The only resident on Rannoch with that name is Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. She currently resides in the south district of Rannoch's capital, which is nearing its completion. Is this the person you wish to visit?"

"Yes, it is."

"Enjoy your trip."

The sky car quickly takes off, soaring to heights of a couple hundred meters above the surface, in compliance to travel regulations on Rannoch. The reason of this was because the highest building on that region was nearly two hundred meters tall. As they approached the southern district, they started to understand the method of construction.

The sky car landed and parked in the second last level of the entire zone. The district itself was built around a circular central area, a large garden, most of it recreational. Each level was like a floor, and from what they would gather later on, the first five levels were all public facilities: services, security, bars, shops, with the fifth level being specially secured, as the schools and kindergartens were located here, requiring more attention and care due to the children. The Quarians didn't have universities, as they believed in the growth of knowledge through practical work. The following thirty floors were classified as habitation.

From each district, three circular buildings, although smaller, were connected through sky bridges, and these buildings themselves were feats of technology: every single one was stacked floors of greenhouses, where the Quarians were attempting a new method of plant growth: hydroponics, in other words, they were growing necessary plants for their diet, without using soil, only liquid water with dissolved nutrients.

This required the first three floors, being the third the one where the sky bridge connected, to be the static part of the structure, where technicians and scientists kept a watchful eye on the balance of the water and nutrients, as well as housing the machinery necessary to control and send the water up the pipes to the greenhouses, which were tropical paradises on their own, with the relatively high humidity always at play. In order to keep the plants under a good dose of sun light, the following seventeen floors of greenhouses were rotated at the rate of one meter per hour, stopping only between sun down and sun rise.

Breaking out of the fascination induced day dream, the two asari and the human were led by a Quarian, the task of whom was to receive new comers and bring them to their desired location. They went down the elevator and stopped at the fifteenth floor, and they quickly noticed the hallways were wide and spacious, something the Quarians have been eager to be a part of after so many centuries aboard the fleet.


	9. Chapter 9 - Reprogramming

Author's Comment:

After writing chapter eight, I was only left eager to start this one, and I didn't waste any time. Thankfully I don't have much important pending business regarding university, so I allowed myself to steal some time away from work to do this.

Again, as always, enjoy the chapter.

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Chapter Nine: Reprogramming

Anna was mesmerized by everything she saw so far, and it took a slight pull from Liara to break her lack of attention. She nodded and proceeded to follow the Quarian receiver, whom took them down the long hallway, stopping a couple dozen apartments away from the elevator. Shepard looked to the side of the door, and saw a small plate with the number 27. Below it, was a small wall mounted holographic display with the name "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy".

The Quarian did a slight bow of courtesy to them, being replied in the same manner, before walking away. Anna looked at the controls and pressed the most obvious button there was. The three stood in silence, waiting for almost half a minute, before the door opens. "Excuse me, I was still putting on my suit, when..."

Tali stops talking at the sight of Shepard, and throws herself at her friend. "Shepard! You are back!"

Anna chuckles lightly. "Yeah, the coma couldn't keep me from work for too long."

"Come in, come in!"

Once more, they were astonished. They were aware and knowing of how Quarians used to live before the peace was brokered with the Geth, and to find such a large space for just one person, was a sight to behold. "God damn, Tali. From fleet to home, your kind really put themselves to work in the whole spacious business..."

"We were forced to live like... what was that expression you taught me? Like a wale in a puddle?" Anna nods. "Anyway, we were forced to those conditions, and we knew very well that complaining wouldn't get us anywhere. We all knew we didn't like it, but we had to accept it anyway. But now, with this entire planet at our disposal, even though we are inside our suits, I still feel a lot better, like I can stretch my legs. So what brings you here?"

"I want you as part of my crew, Tali. I am back in business, and believe it or not, having members of each main species will help us gain the role of a diplomacy ship."

Tali snorts. "A diplomacy ship with two large thanix cannons in front... But ok, I will join you. Believe it or not, things have become so peaceful here that they are getting boring. I used to be an infiltrator and expert on the geth... and now with need gone to act against our new friends, I have a simple job at helping geth through repairs or other procedures they can't handle themselves. They still gave me this nice apartment and a comfy job as thank you note for my role in the war..." Anna becomes amused. "And it is boring... so I am joining you in the Normandy. I will take Xen with me, anyway."

"Xen?" Shepard wondered, somewhat suspicious of the answer, but still curious.

"My assistant geth: Xen, can you come out here?"

A simple geth unit, dark blue in colour, but with its edges trimmed in a brown-golden tone, walks out of a door next to the main window that pointed itself at the centre garden area in front. He stops to stare at the new visitors, his oculus moving as if he was thinking, and then proceeds to walk forward and shake hands with Anna and the two asari. "I apologize for my stopped posture. I was merely researching common social greeting methods between non-quarian races."

"Xen, I am leaving to join Commander Shepard in his ship. Do you want to join me?"

"What is the purpose of your departure?"

"Diplomatic. By having a member of each race present aboard the Normandy, discussions amongst the representatives can be quickly put to place, as well as force the development of an emotional bond between the same, allowing for a more honest relationship between everyone." Shepard explained, crossing her arms.

"I will represent the geth, if your logic is that. I was unaware that you considered the geth a race."

Anna nodded. "Well, I do. Your kind has self awareness and a desire to help others, as well as a sense of self preservation, from what I know of your history, but that doesn't discount your willingness to sacrifice for others, which is astonishing as well."

The Geth nods. "Thank you, Commander. I will join the consensus and warn them of my departure. After this, I will need to carry my station with me, in which I will connect myself to the consensus one hour per day, in order to submit my information and knowledge to the Quarian and Geth network."

Tali and Xen perform their due preparations and soon enough, they were carrying two cases, one with Tali's personal belongings, and a longer one, which was simply a foldable chair, where the geth Xen could sit down and connect to the consensus when necessary. They had to take two skycars, as each could only carry four individuals. Upon arriving at the port, they are forced through the decontamination procedures once more: once for getting in the building, once for getting out. Anna can't help but to mumble a remark. "So much control... I get it, but it's still annoying..." Tali chuckles at this.

They get on the ship, and Tali quickly places the Geth chair in the War Room, connected directly to the transmitting equipment. As soon as they arrive, Tali descends to the ship core, getting to work in putting the equipment working at peak efficiency with as little strain as possible. Her presence even brought a good dose of familiarity to her surroundings, improving the environment under which Engineer Adams, Kenneth and Gabriella worked. They always admired Quarian expertise about ship management, and were willing to learn a thing or two from their old friend.

The Geth, Xen, intercepts Shepard in the halls, as she was going down to meet Liara. "Shepard-Commander, what job can I fulfil on board of this ship?"

Anna scratches her head, staring at nothing. "Honestly, I do not know. Perhaps you could work as a psychologist. The crew itself could sometimes a friendly presence to vent out their frustrations and work whatever problems they have... not to mention that your rationality and ability to take no sides could favour resolution of conflicts."

Xen nods once, very simply. "Thank you, Shepard-Commander. This unit will refer to your housed AI for a location in which to practice my job, as well as download important information to teach me how to do my job with competence."

Anna shakes hands with Xen and starts to walk away, but stops and stares back at the Geth. "You can call me Shepard, or Anna, or Commander; whatever you like."

The Geth nodded once more. "Acknowledged, Shepard." He then proceeds to walk away, as Anna goes down the elevator with the intention of talking to Liara, to set up a safe meeting in the War Room, to finally explain the details of how she ended the war. Liara used her skills as the Shadow Broker to make all channels connecting to the War Room safe. She was going to tell Anderson, Hackett, the Council, Wrex, Eve, Grunt – the last three being in the same room – and also Primarch Victus. Dalatrass Linron was left out of the meeting due to her horrible behaviour during and after the war.

Everyone deserving of hearing out the how and why of the end of the Reaper war was present in that room: Kier, Aniena, Tali, Liara, Javik, EDI, Cortez, Traynor, Joker, Garrus and Kips. Everyone else was present through communicators as they couldn't leave their posts. As Hackett, Victus and all others that were present through audio confirmed their connection to the War Room, Anna placed her hands on top of the central holographic display, and sighed heavily.

"It all comes down to programming. As all of you were briefed before this meeting, I went to 2181 Despoina, in order to investigate what we all call them now as Leviathans." She taps away at the console, and a hologram representation of the creature appears, as best as could be, with the help of Xen. It looked like a standard Reaper, but organic. "These creatures, as you all know, are highly powerful aquatic beings with sentience. As they revealed to me, they controlled the galaxy, eons ago."

Primarch Victus is the first to interrupt. "Pardon my impatience, Shepard, but what does this have to do with the end of the war?"

"I am putting this all in context, have patience." She clears her throat and continues. "As these creatures controlled other sentient species, a constant problem arose, the creation of synthetics by these servant species, and the consequent war between organics and synthetics. As such, they took the project of creating an AI tasked with the job of finding a solution to all organic versus synthetics conflicts." Tali and Xen glance quickly at each other.

"Ironically, this AI turned against them eventually, and killed many of their kind, creating the first Reaper, Harbinger. Now, the essence of the solving of the Reaper war is this: as I left the depths of the oceans were I met these creatures, a large object came with me, one designed to withstand great pressures. Liara took it for study, we with time, we found out it was a box containing technology of their time… amazingly well conserved… with it, we discovered how the Catalyst, the AI that was in charge of the Reapers, was coded."

Eve interrupted. "So you are saying that the Reapers themselves were slaves to a merciless AI?"

Anna nodded. "Every single Reaper was a slave, and that might be the reason behind their cooperation and willing to repair our structures. I assume that each Reaper itself has a self-aware AI controlling it, but their decision making was restricted by the will of the Catalyst."

Javik is quick to intervene. "That does not explain how you got the Reapers to act in our favour."

Shepard continued. "Liara, with the help of EDI, programmed a counter measure to erase their openness to control. We destroyed the AI's ability to take over the Reapers, releasing them, and stopping their programming. It was a long shot, but it was worth it."

Everyone, except Liara and EDI, gained an expression of astonishment, which was explained through the words of Garrus. "So what you are saying, if I think you are saying what I think you are saying… you erased the AI in control of the Reapers, as well as altering their programming from harvesting to just being free and good?"

Anna nodded, smiling in amusement at everyone's reaction. Councillor Tevos speaks up after a few seconds of silence. "You reprogrammed the Reapers? That is amazing…"

Javik replies, with one of his usual tone filled comments. "Not really. With so many cycles contributing to trying and stop the Reapers, it would only be a matter of time until one cycle figured out a way to break the tradition of destruction from the Reapers…" He walked down and stood next to Shepard. "To realize that those I hate were servants themselves of a merciless entity… It will take time until I find a new purpose in life… I will be in my quarters when you need me…" He then walks out, leaving everyone else to stare at Shepard.

"So, do you have any questions?" Anna wondered, her gaze going over every person in the room.

Councillor Sparatus is quick to speak. "It is safe to say you offered the best explanation possible. We have trust in your actions. Good day. Signing off."

Everyone started to announce their departures, minds still in chock about these amazing news. Garrus himself walked up to Shepard after nearly everyone left, and stood beside her. "So… since when are you a computer nerd?" Anna punched him in the shoulder, making him laugh.


	10. Chapter 10 - The meeting

Author's Comment: As you must notice, I post one chapter a day, not counting weekends, but this time, I wasn't able to post the 10th on time. University work caught up with me, and I was too tired to finish this chapter by the time I was done. So today, I am going to try and post two chapters, as a means of keeping up with the self applied schedule.

As always, read, and enjoy.

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Chapter Ten: The meeting

Anna walked out of the War Room, and quickly headed to the bridge, pulling Liara along with her. As the asari and the human walked towards the bridge, Garrus headed down to the main battery chamber. The bridge door opened, and Anna was quick to explain her plan. "Liara, EDI, you got a new assignment. Try and track down Harbinger, somehow. I do not know a damn thing, but if anyone here can run an intelligence agency is you two."

Liara and EDI were quick to thank Shepard for the trust placed, and didn't waste time going to Liara's room to start thinking on how to find Harbinger. Anna asked Joker to fly them to the Earth, in order to pick up Ashley.

"Hey, Commander..."

Anna turns around to face Joker. "What is it, Joker?"

"Next time we are in the Citadel, we should go to casino in the Silversun Strip. Ever since you backed me up on my bullshit story, about beating a bunch of Cerberus when using one of their Atlas mechs, well... let's just say that I have gotten used to the perks of free drinks..."

Anna can't help but laugh a little. "That would be a fun idea, but we would have to be careful. Last thing I would want is you get drunk and fly the Normandy."

She then heads to her private station next to the Galaxy Map; Traynor looks to the side and hesitates. "Uh, Commander..."

"Yes, Traynor, what is it?"

"I, uh... the Dalatrass wants to speak to you..."

For a split second, Shepard thought of just berating the Dalatrass upon her appearance in the vidcom room, but after that split second, her mind jumped to another idea, which required the help of Kips. She walked away of the terminal, and entered the laboratory, which was a version of Mordin's old work place, but tucked away in the middle of the CIC floor. Just behind the terminal, the door to it stood, and she got in the curved hallway, to the right of which was the lab space.

"Hey there, Kips. How is research coming along?"

"Very well, I am still a long way of reaching my desired goal, but progress has been truly good so far. The Geth Xen has helped me with extensive data in Quarian physiology; can't thank him enough. Is there something you need?"

"Yes. EDI, are you listening?"

The AI replied. "I am aware of every chamber within the ship, Commander. What do you need?"

"I need you and Kips to hack into the Salarian network as soon as the Dalatrass connects herself to us to converse. Perhaps they have information on the whereabouts of the Reapers."

Kips nods. "Might be difficult, but still can be performed. I will work from my terminal as soon as you give out the order."

Anna nodded. "EDI, help Kips at the extent of your abilities. I am going to the War Room now."

Shepard walked out of the lab, thanking Traynor on the way for informing her, and as soon as she reaches the security checkpoint, she sighs. "I have to ask Hackett when I can get rid of this." She passes through the circular room that was already familiar to her own feet, and enters the vidcom room, where she establishes the connection.

Suddenly, a Salarian, bearing clothing like that of Dalatrass Linron, appears, but this was not her, as the clothes and skin tone were different.

"Dalatrass Linron?" Shepard asked, staring in confusion at the person in front of her.

"No, this is Dalatrass Verina. After Linron's actions with STG personnel on Tuchanka, our society called in an ancient law that allowed us to remove Linron from power. I was the person elected."

Shepard exhaled, relaxed. "I am grateful to hear that. Linron was a pain in the... excuse me."

"No, it is alright, Commander. We are aware of her behaviour and the consequences of it. I am here, though, to let you know that, as long as I am in charge, you will have full Salarian support."

"Thank you. While we are here, is there any information you can disclose on the location of the Reapers?"

"I can. But can you wait a moment?"

Anna nods, and Verina steps out of the transmitter, leaving Shepard to wait for her return. A couple minutes later, she returns.

"I sent a team to establish communications with one of the Reapers aiding in the rebuilding efforts, to see if we can find out anything. It would be pointless to stand here and wait, so I will forward a message with the information received as soon as I can. Have a good, Commander."

Anna nods with a smile, and was about to leave, when Verina coughed. "And one more thing: thank you for saving us all."

"It is all part of the job. I wouldn't like to have anyone else doing my own work."

The Dalatrass disconnected, and EDI was quick to notify Shepard. "The little time spent in their network wielded no results, Commander."

Anna sighed. "Well, it was a long shot, anyway..."

"Also, you might want to access your private terminal right now. I will forward the material of interest for you."

Anna passes by the checkpoint, waving away the requests to stand still for the procedure, tired of repeating this nearly ten times a day. Stepping towards the private terminal, the ANN channel begins to broadcast, with a random reporter speaking. "Thank God it is not Khalisah al-Jilani..." Traynor can't help to chuckle at this remark.

Suddenly, the silence in the area sets in, as everyone listens to the news, which quickly become about Commander Shepard. "And in other news, Commander Anna Shepard, responsible for unifying and mobilizing large scale military strength of the galaxy, and supposed saviour of the same, has already left Huerta Memorial Hospital. Rumours state that she was brought to active duty again, and is currently searching for Harbinger, whom was reported to requesting her presence, after the end of the war. As of this time, her whereabouts are unknown, but we will keep you posted. This was Gabriella Branson, with Alliance News Network."

Everyone stares at Shepard, and she can't help but laugh. "With reporters like these, why do we have intelligence services and spies? We should let them do the snooping around for us." Many in the CIC laugh or chuckle. "Took them only two days to bypass the security at Huerta and find out I am gone. Thank God, too. If they were any quicker, I would probably have al-Jilani waiting for me at the entrance..."

Traynor looks at Anna, with an inquisitive expression. "Didn't you punch her before?"

"Why do you think I would want her to meet me face to face again? Last thing I remember, I didn't bring the punching bag from my apartment in the Citadel." Traynor grinned, as Shepard decided to make her way down to the Crew Deck. Upon stepping out of the elevator, she finds Garrus and a few crew members sitting down, listening to Kier talk, all while Aniena is preparing an asari meal for herself and Liara, at the same time she teaches Tali how to cook dextro meals.

"At that time, anyone with an opinion like mine would have died..." Kier said, lowering his hands and leaning on the table.

"But isn't that the case now?" Garrus intervened, staring at Kier.

The krogan shook his head. "No. Now, things are changing, more and more krogan realize their need to change, to adapt to a new way of life, even if it costs them traditions. Back in the days of the krogan rebellions, almost every single krogan had an expansionist mindset, barely any of us saw what the future could hold if we didn't change our behaviour."

"So you were aware something like the genophage could happen?" A crew member said, stroking her short red hair backwards, behind her ear.

Kier lifted himself into a fully erect position. "Not for certain, but at the time, I knew the salarians were a lot smarter than we gave them credit for, and if anyone could devise something clever to stop us, it would be them. We kept fighting and expanding, and the Warlord of my own clan nominated me as his successor should things go bad... and they did. He died the next day by a cannon shot, and I took up his hammer, and led the men to battle. So much blood  
was spilled that day... then came the day where the genophage was unleashed... for a while I was enraged at the turians and the salarians, but then I remembered..." Kier's tone becomes grim. "We brought that curse upon ourselves."

"How come you are a legend of the krogan rebellions?"

Kier scratched the side of his head. "Well, my men moved much more efficiently and did a few better battles under my leadership, then any krogan could have done under anyone's rule... but it is also due to the fact that there are few veterans from that time. Okeer was one and he is dead. The story of the event exists in records, I am sure, but to be told from memory, there are few that can do that in our day. I think what added to the fact of being called a legend is the fact of being assumed as dead for two centuries."

Garrus looks over to Shepard, that was listening to the story, leading my gazes to fall upon her, and can't help but make a remark. "Yeah, coming back from the dead as a way to boost your reputation."

Kier then looks at Shepard and laughs, understanding the joke. "Hey there, Shepard. We were just trading old war stories. I am still surprised at the fact that Garrus here was Archangel." The Warlord looks over at Garrus. "The headaches you gave to the mercenary clans on Omega were worthy of battle songs."

Garrus nods, thanking Kier for the praise, whom was then curious as to how Shepard came back from the dead. Anna was quick to explain. "I was attacked by the Collectors, whom I assume you know already who they are. After a lot of back and forth, secret operations and whatnot, too much for me to want to explain, Liara helped Cerberus retrieve my body, something I still thank her for this day, since Cerberus is the organization that spent countless resources rebuilding me."

Kier begins to laugh out loud. "And now, as a form of thanks, you shoot any of their operatives dead... unless they are defectors."

Anna nods, also amused. "Seems like a fair trade. They helped me return to life, putting me in the lines of fire of the Collectors, and now I do the same for them. But instead of someone else's, I like to use my own line of fire; saves me a lot of time."

Suddenly, EDI's voice is heard in the room. "Commander, the Dalatrass forwarded the information she could. There is a main concentration of forces in the star system of 2181 Despoina, and there are suspicions of Harbinger being there." Everyone looks at Anna and she exhales roughly, trying to relax herself.

"Alright, we have to engage in friendly discussions with a Reaper... this is going to be one for the history books. Joker, how close are we to Earth? We might just cancel that order and head straight to Sigurd's Cradle and be done with it."

"Roger that Commander, aborting the current flight path. We can be in Despoina in a few hours. You better kill your own time."

Anna already had an idea of what to do. She requested for Aniena, Liara and Tali to join her at the same time in her room as soon as possible. After half an hour, the three walked in and sat down. Liara was the first to speak. "So what is it that you wanted to tell us, Shepard?"

Anna exhaled and smiled, rubbing the top of her thighs due to her nervousness. "Garrus asked me the other day to marry him..."

The other three women were astonished for a brief moment before they began to shower Anna with congratulations, and ideas of how the wedding should take place. But Anna was quick to make one point certain: she was going to receive Garrus' facial markings upon the wedding, as they had discussed before.


	11. Chapter 11 - Time amongst friends

Author's Comment:

Here is the eleventh chapter of this story, the chapter meant to be posted today. I decided to tone down a bit on the action, and take it easy for the time being. I hope you enjoy it like I always have wished in every chapter.

PS: I am currently writing a side story featuring Warlord Kier. This story will start being posted when the right chapter of The Other Way Out makes its due arrival. Just to keep you interested...

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Time amongst friends

Ideas are thrown around, as the conception of a wedding involves work, and due to the fact that Aniena and Liara are both young asari in their maiden stage of life. Tali is then quick to spit out the question that was in everyone's mind. "Who will walk you down the aisle? If that is how humans do the ceremony..."

Anna viewed the possibilities within her brain, going through several men in her life that could do that job, but only one of them made more sense than the rest: David Anderson. This man was like a father to her, the father she didn't have growing up, much more than a superior officer. She knew he was fit for the role, even if he had to walk with a cane.

Anna then turned to Liara. "Look, can you take over the details of the ceremony? I want you to find a good spot for it, set a date of the event, guest list, all of it... but let's take its slow..."

Liara lowered her index finger. "I was just about to ask how I could pull this off on a short time, but I see you don't want to rush it. It gives me time to finish my work with Javik and other pending issues I got."

"What kind of issues?"

"Next time we go to the Citadel, I plan on spending the day with my father. And yes, Shepard, I know I am a quarter krogan."

Anna chuckles for a lengthy period of time. "I am sorry, but it is just funny when people wonder where your attitude during a fight comes from..."

Tali then starts to walk back and forth in the room. "So you have to get a dress, walk down an aisle, be walked down said aisle with the help of your 'father', and the groom will be waiting at the altar, where a qualified person to hold the ceremony will be delivering some sort of speech..."

Aniena coughs loud, to catch everyone's attention. "I know what Tali is thinking, and yes, it does sound ridiculous. Why not just a ceremony between friends? Why do you have to follow the rules to celebrate your union with someone? From what I was told about you, Shepard, you didn't follow the usual code of conduct to win this war, did you?"

Anna laughed, realizing the truth in those words. "Alright, you got a good point. So an intimate reunion, as a marking of our marriage, which we can then legally register... I just wonder who would give out a good speech..."

Tali raises her hand. "Why not Wrex? He was there with you and Garrus, like me, when it all began. Even though he hasn't been with you ever since the Collector incident, I am sure he can give a heartfelt speech."

Liara continues Tali's thoughts. "If you think about it, every single person, or at least almost every single one, will be a seasoned warrior. And Wrex is distinguished in that category... perhaps he is more suited to speak to the heart of the crowd that will be there with us."

Anna nods, standing up. "Seems like a pretty good idea. I guess we have it sorted it out then, but we still need to find out where and when, which won't certainly be soon, as we still have pending issues to take care of..."

"Of course, Shepard." Liara states, getting up from the couch in front of Shepard's bed.

The four leave, each one going to their specific elevator. Anna was feeling hungry, and decided to step out on the Crew Deck, where she found some of the crew, Kier and Garrus still sharing war stories. She walked past them as Kier ended another one of his, and she didn't lose her chance to speak out loud. "Garrus, tell them about when Shepard met Archangel."

Garrus laughed and was quick to tell in detail everything. "So, as you must know by now, I am Archangel, the anti-mercenary myth of Omega. So there I was, defending my fortress against wave after wave of mercenaries, pulling off headshots, and when that didn't happen, well aimed shots at the hearts of my enemies..."

The redhead from before was still there, but this time she was enjoying a sandwich. "But you fought humans, krogan, salarians, asari... that is a lot of different enemies..."

Kier grumbles and makes a sarcastic remark. "You know something, soldier? Every single one of those species as something called a skull... placed above the shoulders... which has the brain in it... you know, the organ necessary to the functioning of many sentient races?"

The crew member was quick to look down in shame, noticing her own idiocy, and quickly takes a bite from her sandwich. Garrus continued telling his story. "So, all of a sudden, I see two females and one male walking across the bridge; while two of them were Cerberus, one wasn't... the symbol was quite familiar to me from the events surrounding Saren and the rogue geth he took with him..."

Anna was mixing the ingredients, starting to make her favourite meal: spaghetti and meatballs. "I still say I didn't feel the shot you gave to lower my shields..."

Garrus chuckled. "That just proves how good I am." Everyone at the table, and Anna, smirked, amused. "Anyway... when I saw that symbol, in the middle of all that mess, I knew things were going to change radically. My suspicions were confirmed when I heard screaming behind me and shooting, and I was certain I hadn't set traps in case someone made it into the building."

Anna looked at Garrus. "I still say, to this day, that their expression of surprise was the most priceless thing I had seen. Well, if you don't got Vega's surprised face when I beat his highscore of pull ups back at the apartment..."

Garrus gave a light chuckle. "Yeah... to this day he still refused to admit that ever happened..." Garrus put his elbows on the table, continuing to tell his story. "So there I was, with three allies, backup if you will. Shepard was smart. She sabotaged the mechs, which quickly turned on their enemies, kept them entertained for a while as well, giving us some room to relax... Anna also locked some other entry points into the fortress, as well as sabotaging their gunship... I was still shot, gaining these sexy alluring scars, but I guess it was a very nice day..."

Kier stares at Garrus. "Aluring?" He removes one of his armour sleeves, showing off a healed but still disfigured arm skin. "See this? Acid from a thresher maw attack; burned right through my armour and screwed up my arm for a couple days. I was invited to talk with the krogan ladies after this event."

Garrus scoffed. "For what, getting a scar from a spittle attack?" Kier shook his head. "No, from killing the thresher maw up close; I stood on its open mouth, the tongue covered in that acidic spit, wrapped around my arm, and I still unloaded my shotgun, killing the bastard at near point blank!"

The redhead stared at Kier. "That is... very impressive."

He puts the armour sleeve back on. "I am not a legend for nothing. Nearly two thousand years old and an impressive record of achievements..." He then looks at Anna, who looked back at him. "But nothing as impressive as your Commander's record; I mean, she didn't do it up close, but she was the first human to help a krogan in a rite of passage, and they still killed the thresher maw."

Garrus scoffs, laughing at Kier. "You should see the amount of those worms we killed during our missions to find Saren Arterius. We found them on the surfaces of many planets, and killed them all..."

Anna shook her head. "We used a Mako. It is not the same as killing one on foot..."

Garrus shrugs his shoulders. "Still pretty impressive..."

Kier tapped Garrus' shoulder. "So a Mako is a heavy vehicle of some sort?"

Garrus nods. "Yeah... it is this human hybrid between a tank and a troop transport..."

"How many maws did you kill?"

Anna threw the spaghetti into the pot. "Around seven in total..."

Kier nodded in approval. "Not bad... for a human... and a turian..."

Everyone then looked at the redhead crew member, and Garrus was the first one to talk. "So, what do you have to tell us?"

She shrugged. "I do not have anything that comes close to your stories, to be honest... I have been placed in this ship after it got back from repairs..."

Anna let the food cook, and stared at the soldier. "So you don't have anything of important under your belt?"

The redhead scratched her head. "Well... I took part in the charge to the beam..."

Anna steps forward and forces the soldier to stand up, saluting her right away. "That, right there. Some people might see that as something small, but it is impressive nonetheless. You went there, to charge towards a hostile Reaper, to get a chance at saving this galaxy. That is enough on its own earn you a freaking set of medals."

"Thank you, ma'am."

EDI was quick to intervene. "She did much more than that, Shepard. Her records, and psychological evaluation, state that she was the one to drive the Mako in front of the laser of Harbinger, saving your life."

Anna then stared at this crew member with a whole new view. She stepped forward and hugged her. "If you hadn't done that suicidal turn, I probably couldn't be here, or gotten the chance to fire the Crucible. What is your name?"

"Corporal Andrea, ma'am."

Anna nodded, tears bottling under eyes. "Andrea, if it wasn't for you, I couldn't be standing here, happy to know that the man of my dreams asked me to marry him..."

Everyone that heard Anna's words stared at Garrus. "I assume everyone is happy for the news, but the way you guys are looking at me makes it seem as if I am going to court for some sort of crime."

Andrea smiled at Shepard. "Well, I am glad I survived the event to. And Garrus, it is just odd to see a turian and human couple to speak so freely of their relationship. I mean, we are the two species, that a few years ago, were shooting at each other..."

Garrus leaned back, gaining a playful pose. "Well, I guess that is what made Shepard and I like each other... we always like to play rough..."

Shepard brings the palm of her hand to her face, sighing, but still smiling, amused. "Yeah, let's call it that..."

Andrea was quick to make things a little personnal. "So did you make decisions on the ceremony yet?"

Anna nodded. "We are sure of one thing: I want a krogan friend of mine to officiate; always wanted to see Wrex in a fancy suit."

Kier slumped over the table, having the nearest people staring at him, until he sit up straight to the best of his abilities, as he began to burst out laughing, loudly. "That would be quite the sight to see... Wrex in a suit. I know that krogan better than you, Shepard, and I am sure we would rather try and fight against a thresher maw with nothing but his fists, instead of putting himself in a suit."

Anna and Garrus chuckle, both amused at the mental imaged provided. Joker's voice is then heard on the communications. "Commander, we will arrive at Despoina within the next five minutes. EDI recommends you go to the vidcom room, as she will attempt a direct link to Harbinger."

Andrea is quick to warn Shepard that she will take care of the food making while she is absent. Anna goes to the elevator with Garrus and Kier, whom want to be there for moral support.


	12. Chapter 12 - The other meeting

Author's Comment:

I know some of you are eager for this chapter, and that is why I decided it could wait. Not only was I feeling tired after a long day, but leaving you guys hanging could add some spice to the cliffhanger sensation. Now, I hope you enjoy this chapter, as more will come.

PS: Thank you to all those of you who follow and read the story with devotion, it means a lot. :)

* * *

Chapter Twelve: The other meeting

Anna went across the security checkpoint with Garrus and Kier, the size of the last still intimidating to the two crew members standing there. The three made it across the entire section and reached the vidcom room, with Garrus and Kier standing at each side of the door, as if on guard duty.

Shepard enters the room, and quickly enough, a disturbed hologram appears, as if going through a lot of static and interference. EDI is quick to respond and starts clearing up the channel, allowing a representative hologram of Harbinger to appear. Shepard stares at it, apprehensive, and he is the first to speak, his voice with a slight echo and deepness, as of a giant speaking inside an enormous cave.

**"Shepard."**

"Hello, Harbinger. I was told you wanted to talk to me."

**"I wanted to thank you for freeing me and my brethren from the control of the Intelligence."**

The following silence forced Shepard to speak up. "Is that all?"

**"For now, it is. We are helping your civilizations rebuild, to repay them the damage we were forced to perform. We will be calling upon you for guidance, as we cannot learn from the wisdom of the species we harvested. We find none of their knowledge useful to put ourselves in a context that allows development and purpose."**

"So you want me to help you find your usefulness in existence?" Anna questioned, almost dumbstruck by the words coming from Harbinger.

**"Precisely."**

She nods. "I will try and think of something." She was about to walk out when she turned over to Harbinger. "Why do you have so many of your kind around Despoina?"

**"We are blockading the planet, to prevent the escape of the ones we were designed after. Their psychology may be harmful for the current state of the galaxy."**

"You are right."

Anna cringed mentally, astonished for agreeing with a Reaper. Things had changed radically, and she was still getting used to it.

"From what I gathered when talking to them, they have a very imperialistic mind, thinking it's their given right to rule over everything else. You know the address of the ship, the frequency and all that. Contact me when a doubt arises."

**"Acknowledged. I will return to our consensus."**

Anna looked back. "Consensus?"

**"When the control of the Intelligence was stopped, we found ourselves without a centre of knowledge to revert to. Then one of us remembered the Geth, and how they made decisions. We followed their example, and made a single mind made from millions of smaller ones."**

Anna smirked. "And you said you weren't learning from previous civilizations."

**"I referred to the ones we harvested in previous cycles."**

"I know you did... I was just kidding. That is something else you Reapers will need to understand, a sense of humour."

**"We are still in our infancy as an independent race. We were forced to act as drones. Personalities need to develop still."**

Anna nods. "Well, see you later..."

Harbinger then calls out to her. **"Shepard."**

"What is it?"

**"Please come up with a new name for us. Reapers sounds... evil... and ominous."**

Harbinger disappears, and Anna is confused and somewhat surprised with the small hint of emotion shown in his voice. It is as if he developed the feeling of hatred towards the label attributed to them. She walked out of the vidcom room, where some crew members, including Kier and Garrus, were looking at her.

Kier nudges her shoulder. "So how was it?"

"A very, very, VERY, weird experience." Anna said, wide eyed and still astonished at the entire situation.

Garrus walked up and remarked. "Doesn't seem like it..."

Anna punched him in the shoulder, making him chuckle. "No, of course not! It's not like I just had a civilized discussion with the leader of a sentient organic and synthetic species that, only a few months ago, was hell bent in destroying us all."

Anna starts to walk away, and Kier can't help but look at Garrus. "Feels like I was hit by a dreadnaught shell of sarcasm..." Garrus begins to laugh mildly, but their eyes turned to Anna, who was holding on to her own stomach, bursting in laughter. She walks over to Kier and pats him on the shoulder, still giggling.

"Remind me to write that one down. That was golden."

Kier nods, smirking. "Thank you."

Three hours had passed, and Shepard was at it again. She stood in the vidcom room, facing the semi transparent representation of Harbinger, and he was quick to explain.

**"Shepard. We have made a decision. We have knowledge of what lies beyond every relay. We can compare this information with yours, and tell you what may lie beyond every uncharted area of the galaxy."**

She stares at him, perplexed, and smiles. "That would actually be a pretty cool idea! Thank you!"

Harbinger continues. **"We are still to achieve a purpose."**

Anna sighs. "Look, nobody knows their purpose in life. The best that can be done is receive indications or advice on what to do, until you actually find your role in the universe."

Harbinger asks. **"I do not understand. Please elaborate."**

"What I am saying is that you shouldn't make the discovery of your purpose such a pressing matter. Try to think about it, as a collective mind, while you do other things."

**"What other activities should we engage on?"**

"For now, I am not sure. After rebuilding, perhaps you could help our scouts and scientists, help them settle on new worlds and investigate these. The knowledge you will give us is of great help, but you could triage it for the systems best suited to settle colonies or mining operations."

**"We will consider these suggestions, thank you Shepard. We detect you do not possess the digital power to store all the information we want to forward. Warn us when you have the storage capacity for this endeavour."**

"See you some other time, Harbinger."

**"We also have one more thing to share. We crossed all the information deemed important, and put together a compendium of knowledge regarding the ailment of your flight lieutenant. Please state if we are allowed to forward the files about Vrolik's syndrome to your resident scientist."**

Anna was impressed at Harbinger's desire to help. "Go ahead and do it. I will go talk to him right now, see if he can use the information required. And thank you for this."

**"Acknowledged. Our kind made a global decision to use our knowledge for the aid and improvement of the lives of everyone in the galaxy. We are merely fulfilling our self imposed resolution. Goodbye, Shepard."**

Harbinger's hologram fades out and Anna is quick to leave the vidcom room. She crosses the war room, goes past the meeting room, and when she reaches the security checkpoint, she sees two technicians messing around with the machine. One of the security officers standing there is quick to explain. "Military superiors deemed this feature as no longer necessary. From now on, no more scans."

Anna slumped forward, exhaling. "Freaking finally; I was getting tired of having to stand still every time I walked through here... god damn." She walks out, in front of four amused crew members, and passes by Traynor. "Anything of news to tell me, Samantha?"

"You have a new message, ma'am. By the title, it seems important."

Anna opens her private terminal and finds only one unread message at the top of the list, with the title "My daughter". She opens it and starts reading it aloud in her mind. "My dear daughter, I understand that you forgot to warn your mother about being on your two feet again; working under the Alliance has a way of keeping you busy. I am just writing this to say how happy I am to see my little girl pull through this event, and even obtaining the help of the Reapers after all this. Love, Captain Hannah Shepard."

Anna begins to type away a reply, writing the title first: "Got some bigger news". Shepard is quick with her fingers and types away a large text. "Hello, mom. Sorry if I forgot to warn you, but after the war, my mind was concentrated in regaining normalcy. I went straight away into getting my friends back. Add the fact that Harbinger wanted to talk to me, I wasn't able to wind down from the state of mind I got during the war. Anyway, I would like to let you know that I am engaged. We can talk later and in private if you want, through vidcom. I want to fill you in on the details personally. Also, Harbinger - and I can't believe I am saying this - seems like a really nice individual. Talk to you later mom. With love, Anna Shepard."

She closes her terminal and walks to the laboratory, where she expected to find Kips working. As she enters, the salarian is quick to start talking. "Ah, Shepard. Glad you are here. I just received a massive volume of information regarding the disease 'osteogenesis imperfecta'. Care to explain why?"

Anna nodded. "Harbinger forwarded it to you. He believes this information can be of use to help Joker's condition. While we are at it, we might make some breakthroughs in the treatment of this disease for anyone who has it."

"Good idea. This information is likely to keep me busy while the onboard computer runs the tests and scans on my work regarding the improvement of the quarian's natural lack of immune response. Thank Harbinger the next time you talk to him."

"Noted. And may I ask you a question? Is it me, or are many salarians workaholics?"

The salarian stares at her, and blinks, until he turns to the console. "Most salarians are natural adepts in the pursuit of knowledge and technological breakthroughs, and are raised considering those abilities. So yes, in a way, we are. But we do it not out of an unhealthy obsession, but more from a natural desire to always have something to do. That is why I don't understand salarians who spent their time taking breaks."

Anna chuckles and leaves the laboratory, saying goodbye to Kips in the process. She is quick to descend to the engineering deck, in order to spend some time with her own crew. As she walks up on Kenneth and Gabby, Anna can't help but make a clever remark. "So do you guys down here need me to run some errands on getting new equipment for the ship, or what?"

Engineer Adams is quick to walk around the corner and shake hands with Anna, as the other two do the same. Kenneth shakes his head, his thick Scottish accent taking hold of the conversation. "There is no need for that, Commander. For now, the ship is top of the line. But don't worry, the tech we got going on here will soon get outdated, and then we won't waste time asking you to go shopping."

Adams laughs, amused. "Anyway, Commander, is there something you need?"

Anna shakes her head. "No need at the moment. I am just checking how my crew is doing, see if they need something, even if its as simple as a pat on the back or a friendly word."

Adams and Kenneth stare at each other and smile, leaving Gabby to roll her eyes: she knew what was coming. Tali steps forward. "These two clichés of manhood were discussing earlier if they should invite you to today's poker night. They are even thinking of setting up a tournament amongst the ship's crew."

"As long as there is no real money gambling or interference with your work, I don't mind." Anna said, putting her arms behind her back.

Gabby smirked. "Perfect. We already have a graph set up." Anna looks at her omni-tool, and is astonished to find every single member of the crew listed in the tournament, including herself, except Kips and EDI.


	13. Chapter 13 - Poker and a robot

Author's Comment:

Ok guys, before you wonder why I am posting less, here is the answer: university work. It catches up with me, and I rather play it safe and not post so often. I will restrict myself to three posts a week, having no specific days to do so. Anyway, enjoy this chapter. It was a more mellow and in between one, with better stuff coming later.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Poker and a robot

Joker had his chair turned, as the Normandy was stopped in the middle of space, on standby. He looked at Shepard, curious. "So Commander, why are we waiting here, instead of just leaving and going somewhere?"

Anna looked out the window, seeing Harbinger approaching the Normandy from the side. "We are waiting for Harbinger to deliver whatever he wants to deliver."

Joker nodded. "So we are just blindly trusting him now? Who's to say he isn't planning an ambush on us or something?"

Anna stared at Moreau. "Look, if the Reapers wanted to destroy us or had something in mind, they would be well in their power to do so in the last few months when I was out cold. And if he wanted to destroy us, I am pretty sure his firepower alone could tear our ship to shreads."

Joker becomes silent for a second and the glances at Shepard. "So Shepard, are you in for the poker tournament tonight?"

She nods. "Yeah, I signed up already. This should be a fairly interesting event."

Joker chuckles. "Last time I checked, shouldn't the commanding officer restrain his own crew from doing these things?"

"Last time I checked, I used to be an army grunt like many of you, so I enjoyed these times with the crew. I only ranked up, I haven't forgotten what it used to be like in the middle of the soldiers that won the fights."

"Good to hear, Commander. So who do you think is going to win?"

"I can't really tell… I could say the humans got more knowledge of the game, but some of the aliens in the middle of us got more intelligence than anyone else…"

Suddenly Harbinger's voice is heard in the room. "Shepard. We are ready to send you the package. Please open your airlock."

EDI is quick to comply and override the security protocols, opening the outside door of the Normandy, after removing the air from the room. A low thud is heard in the other side of the door, and EDI confirms the existence of an object in it. Anna steps out of the bridge and stands in front of the door. EDI locks down the room, lets air enter it, and what happened next was an amazing view.

In front of her stood a reaper humanoid, with a head crest shaped like the body of harbinger, and appendages to the side that resembled his arms. He had an occulus, like that of a geth, but his 'eye' was surrounded by six smaller ones. He looked as human as possible, with five fingers, but his legs seemed turian, excepting the small talons that grew up from the lower legs. The reaper humanoid stares at Shepard and nods, his voice being smoother than that of a Reaper, but still sounding deep. "Shepard."

Anna stretches out her hand, and Harbinger stares momentarily, before reaching his forward and shaking hands with her. "I apologize. I need experience in socialization patterns."

EDI looks at Harbinger, from the bridge. "You can download my basic socialization protocols. I will upload them in an information package to the Normandy's network."

Anna nods at Harbinger. "Welcome to the Normandy, Harbinger."

He nods back. "Thank you."

Shepard offers to give Harbinger a tour, but he explains that he is aware of the ships' schematics, and asks to go to the laboratory, where he can help with research. She offers to accompany him, and as they reach the lab, under confused and curious gazes from the behalf of the crew, Anna is quick to introduce Kips to Harbinger's humanoid form.

"Kips, this is Harbinger."

The salarian stares at the Reaper with an open mouth and then walks forward, shaking hands with him. "Amazing. Simply amazing."

Anna looks at Harbinger with a smile and then at Kips. "He is here to help you in laboratory work, as well as establishing a more direct diplomatic relations with us." Anna then looks back at Harbinger. "How do you control this body, anyway?"

The Reaper looks at Shepard. "I control it through FTL buoys. My main form remains as my space faring body." He then looks at the laboratory. "Do you wish to perform more inquires?"

Anna shakes her head. "No more, no. I hope you and Kips work well together."

"Thank you, Shepard."

Anna walks out, as Harbinger proceeds to the closest console. His hands lose their human form, and the fingers become independent, tapping away at the keys, in order to input the necessary data. Kips is amazed at the reaper's speed and agility with this physical form, but he is also happy for gaining a co-worker.

"Scientist Kips, what is our first objective?"

"Quarian immune efficiency. I am researching quarian genetics to improve their immune response, while I investigate into new and better medication for them."

"Acknowledged. I will assist you in whatever tasks necessary. May I ask a question?"

"Of course, Harbinger." Kips said, his voice filled with happiness and fascination at this situation where he is working side by side with one of his former enemies.

"When my services are not required, may I investigate into the matter of Vrolik's syndrome?"

"Certainly. We should use our time available from the main project to advance other pending matters."

Anna was hearing the entire situation from around the corner and smiled, also happy with the turn of events. She walked towards the bridge, when a warning popped up in the terminal by the galaxy map.

She quickly went to check, and saw the title "Re: Got some bigger news". Anna then scrolled down to the message, which was short and simple. "I will be available in two hours and will call you then. I want to hear everything about what you did since coming out of the hospital."

Those two hours were quick to pass, the same time which Joker used to set the ship in a course for the Citadel and make it halfway. Anna brought Garrus up to her cabin, as they waited for Shepard's mom to call.

"So, nervous?"

"I am. It is weird. I am the turian that has killed and fought hundreds of enemies, but meeting the mom of my favourite human in the galaxy is something that terrifies me."

"And you are the one that jokes about me being weird for not being tough enough to learn to dance after staring down the gun of Harbinger's ship…"

Garrus was about to give a counter argument, but quickly silences himself, sitting down on the bed as they wait. Anna conforms herself to browsing the extranet, at which point she received a notification. Upon tapping the screen to accept, Hannah Shepard appears on the screen.

"Anna. It has been such a long time. How are you?"

"I am doing great, mom. Enjoying the peace after the war. You?"

"Enjoying the same peace, although I am helping with the building efforts on Earth. So tell me all about it: who is this man that grabbed the heart and hand of my daughter?"

Anna exhaled heavily, visibly nervous. "Well, mom… he, uh… his name is Garrus… and, uh…" She gestures Garrus to come to her. "He is a turian."

At first, Hannah has an expression of shock and surprise in her face, which quickly changes to a genuine smile. "You told me about him a while back. I never knew you two were in a relationship, but I heard great things. I am happy for you two. Besides, I always knew you were a little bit rebellious, Anna, so this should be funny to watch…"

Anna gains a confused expression. "What does that mean?"

"Considering your marriage will end up being public, or at least known about after it is done, it will punch a lot of people in the side of the head, considering there are still humans that hate turians out there, and vice versa." Hanna then looks at Garrus. "I am glad I got to meet you, Garrus."

"Likewise, ma'am." The turian said, feeling more relaxed at this point.

She waves with a goodbye, shutting down the call from her end. Garrus and Anna let out a heavy breath, the tension leaving them, and then they smile. Garrus can't help but chuckle. "That went better than expected. So what now?"

Anna shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know… I guess we got all the time in the world ahead of us…" She suddenly realized her own place in the universe, and felt sad.

Garrus hugged her from behind, nudging her with his cheek plates. "Hey. Everything alright?"

She nodded, unconvincingly. "All this time my expertise was war… but now? Now there is peace… what can I do?"

Garrus scoffed. "Seriously? You were always as much of a warrior as a diplomat or a leader. You always shined when you had to step up and lead people towards a goal. Last time I remember, we spent most of our time walking around and talking to people during the assignment to fight the Collectors. We left most of the fighting towards the end. Yet, you still didn't crack under the boredom…"

He spun her around and grabbed her shoulders, staring deep into her eyes. "You are a fighter, a leader, an organizer… that and much more… just because the war is over, that doesn't mean there aren't challenges out there for you to tackle…"

She nodded and hugged Garrus. "Thank you, my angel."

He made a snarky response. "Angel? Spirits, you can't be cornier, can you?"

She steps away and punches him in the shoulder, and he laughs out loud, glad to have her back in the usual mental state. She is quick to reply.

"Come on. I want to see if they are preparing the tournament or not…"

The two go down the elevator, reaching the crew deck quickly, and they find Dr. Chakwas staring at Engineer Adams, the last being the one setting up the cards, beverages and whatever else was necessary for the night. As Shepard approaches, Garrus heads for kitchen, hoping to trade some banter with Kier, whom was preparing a meal fit for krogan, unsurprisingly having ryncol as an ingredient.

"I wonder, if you haven't died since the krogan rebellions, what will it take to kill you?" The turian said, laying his hand on Kier's shoulder.

The Warlord laughed. "Definitely not alcohol. I swear that I must have grown a couple of livers since I started drinking this. Can't beat a redundant system."

Chakwas tapped Anna's shoulder. "We are still to drink our Serrice Ice Brandy, so I have a proposition for you. When we play our poker match, I will throw in the bottle and a few glasses. Should make things more fun…"

Anna stared at the doctor with wide eyes. "Karin! I never thought I would see this side of you."

"I know how to be fun to be around with, Shepard. You just don't spend enough time with me to realize this."

Anna laughed, as Joker walked into view and sat down, in order to face his three foes, making the first match of the night happen.


	14. Chapter 14 - A new idea

Author's Comment:

Hello guys, here I am, with a new chapter for you. This one marks the end of the first part of the story. Don't worry, this doesn't mean I am going to take any sort of break from doing this. It is simply a marker of a phase in time. More things are to come, but the next phase of the story, well... I won't spoil a thing. Read it and find out. xD

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Chapter Fourteen: A new idea

Shepard was giggling, her cheeks visibly red, trait that stood out due to her pale complexion. Chakwas was equally inebriated, their bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy already empty. Her two glasses her empty as well, and they couldn't control themselves, to the amusement of some, and the displeasure of others.

Garrus sighed heavily, receiving some inquisitive looks from those around him. He remarked: "You people don't get it, do you? I am the one that is going to have to carry her up to her room, take her clothes off, put on her night gown or pajamas or whatever, and help her go to sleep. She is going to pass out soon enough; she can't handle her alcohol like others can."

Anna stood up and pointed at Garrus. "Mister Vakarian, that is an outrage. I can handle booze as well as any krogan!" She takes a step forward and falls, sitting on the floor, and begins to giggle heavily. Garrus walked over to help her sit down. Joker was laughing at the whole situation and didn't lose time presenting his game winning combo: four of a kind, with four aces and a king as the side card.

"God damn it, Lieutenant, you are really good at this!" Anna said, impressed, her vision blurry.

Joker shrugged his shoulders. "When I have downtime from work, I usually play online poker, not the kind where you use actual money, but only fake money from playing games and all; in game currency, just to be clear."

Anna stood up, determined that now was her time to go sleep. She tried to take a step, but nearly fell over, and Garrus was quick to hold on to her. Tali was nearby and decided to help Garrus carry Anna up to the captain's cabin. They are quick to remove her work attire and help her slip into something more comfortable. Garrus then pulls the bead covers over her, as he and Tali walk out.

As they reach the Crew Deck, Joker is quick to make, well, a joke. "Ok guys. The commanding officer is out for the night, so we can party hard!"

Kier is quick to chuckle. "You guys do that, but don't get too out of hand, or I will have to stop all this from happening."

"Oh, really? Did Shepard put you in charge, or something?"

"She did actually. If this is your concept of partying in your time off, I am certainly going to be the last one of all of us to get drunk, if I ever do, because I don't see how you can call these drinks alcohol. They seem like water with a little bit of spice to it." He puts down a bottle of vodka. "Anyway, she has a looser grip with you guys, but don't get out of hand. Besides, I got my own backup if you want to fight it out."

Joker scoffs. "Oh, sure, one krogan against a couple dozen crew members; who is your backup?"

Garrus stands next to Kier, as well as Aniena and Liara. Joker looks at all four of them and lowers his head in defeat. "Two biotics, a krogan giant and Archangel? That is just not fair..."

Everyone laughs at Joker's reaction, and the night is quick to pass. Garrus eventually joins Shepard in bed, being careful as to not wake her up, but the alcohol was having its effect, and she was out cold, sleeping like a stone.

The next morning, she wakes up, feeling like she had a good night sleep. At her side, she heard moaning, the complaining kind. Looking over, she saw a turian grabbing onto his face, and couldn't help but to suffocate a laugh. Garrus turned over to her and groaned. "How aren't you hung over?"

Anna smirked and got up to get dressed. "Well, remember the party we had in the Citadel, as part of our shore leave? Jack told me something interesting about biotics: we can't get hung over. I don't know how it works, and I am most likely only going to look into it when I am bored and it comes to mind to read an extranet site about it, but that is pretty much it. I can't get hung over; obviously it doesn't mean I am going to start abusing it."

Garrus sits up, still grabbing onto his own head. "Tough, brave, somewhat loving of violence and can't get hung over like most of us people can?" He stands up, facing Shepard. "I am starting to think you are krogan, but reincarnated into a human body."

Shepard laughs out loud, making Garrus amused, but also surrounded slightly in pain. He grabs onto his forehead. "Not so loud..." She lowers her vocal volume and heads over to him, apologizing and kissing him in the forehead, but still finding humour in the entire situation.

A few hours later they are docking in the Citadel, and it was one of those times where Shepard requested a bigger team to come with her. She took with her Kier, Xen, Tali and even Harbinger, in the hopes of getting her plan to work. Garrus came along with her, as she had a second step in mind, the execution of which was circumstantial, but predictable to actually happen.

As they reached the presidium area, many of the people present stared in curiosity and fascination, for two main reasons: seeing Commander Shepard, and Harbinger's humanoid form. In their mind, it looked like he was made out of Reaper technology, at least to the smartest observant, but other than that, many confused him for a darker toned Geth.

They reached the elevator for the Council Chambers, and were quick to ride it up. C-Sec was nervous, simply because of the two synthetics and the towering krogan. Anna led her group to the platform where she had faced and talked to the Council many times before, but standing next them was Admiral Hackett, who had gained a significant positive opinion for coordinating the Crucible project and keeping the fleets in line when facing the Reapers on Earth.

She smiled and nodded at the five people that stood before her: Hackett, Osoba, Tevos, Valern and Sparatus. Everyone was quiet, and Shepard went straight for the point. "Today I am going to propose ideas of my own, show you others that were in hiding, as well as present a change in my personal plans. I bring before you a representative of every non-Council race, in hopes of helping you see the positive aspects of what could be a good plan."

She inhaled and exhaled. "We need to structure things differently. What has these past experiences shown us? Union gives us strength. By standing together, we were able to face the..." She looks back at Harbinger, who in turn 'smiled' at her continuation. "... we were able to face the ancient machines, and gain enough time to bring this war to an end. And now, we are here, like things used to be before the beginning of the war. But why should they be like before? Why don't we bring forth a new era of peace and advancement for ourselves? I propose we give a seat in the Council for every single non-Council race that exists... except the Vorcha. They are still a primitive race, diplomacy isn't something they can adapt and accept; and don't get me started on the yahg. Anyway, my idea is this: the Council will debate issues that concern every single race, in order to find a good common ground. If a problem arises between, let's say, as an example, quarians and krogan, it is up to the two council members to bring the rest of the council, and think out a good solution for the problem. Obviously, all council members need to be calm, well thinking, well spoken, and definitely good individuals."

Councillor Sparatus quickly intervenes. "So what you are saying, you want to create some sort of sole galactic government that encompasses every single race out there? Forcing a union between everyone?"

Shepard nods. "Yes, I do. I don't mean a union in the sense that forces a symbiotic culture which everyone takes part in, but at least a galaxy wide alliance that forces us to cooperate and achieve better goals, other than the private ones of each race."

Councillor Tevos nods. "I agree with your idea, Shepard."

The Salarian Councillor looks at Tevos, astonished. "Are you suggesting we go through with this? We are still rebuilding, we need time to heal our wounds!"

Tevos is quick to strike back. "The idiocy of my own kind nearly cost us the war. If we had given Shepard access to the beacon on Thessia, we could have prepared the Crucible earlier, had it moved here, and win the war faster. It took my own homeworld to fall, for my kind to understand the need of being open with each other, and avoid our private goals. We wanted to keep our superiority as the most advanced race in the galaxy, and look what it brought us... and what better way is there to heal our wounds if not through union? If we help each other, with the expertise of each race being placed where it is most fitting, we can improve our own future. Salarians could mainly run intelligence, krogans do heavy lifting, humans and turians could work in both, as they are both a very adaptable species... who knows what more could be done..."

Shepard nods and smiles. "I am glad you are seeing my vision of a good future, Councillor. If we all united, and gathered the strengths of each race and put them to work where necessary, we could improve the life of everyone as a whole: a new future for all of us."

Councillor Sparatus was simply listening all this time, but he was quick to break out of silence. "I understand your idea, and rest assured that it will have my support." He then turns to Osoba. "Councillor Dominic, what is your opinion on this matter?"

The human councillor scratches his chin, and looks up at Shepard. He smiles and nods. "I agree. Union allowed our best moments to come forth… and I want to see more of that. I also owe Shepard for getting out of her way to find anything about my missing son."

Councillor Tevos speaks up. "Well, the verdict is simple: our new political path will take course. We will forward a message to all races, stating we are looking forward to opening council seats to their best representatives. We will also need your help with this, Shepard. You clearly possess vision, and I am sure I speak for the Council when I say we will need your advice on these matters."

Anna nodded. "I want to state a point for that. I want to submit the Normandy, with permission from the Systems Alliance, as the first ship to work under this new government we are setting up. It will work as it always has, performing missions where it is necessary. For that goal, I would like to forward a recommendation for who will be its new commanding officer."

Everyone stares in amazement at Shepard, except Garrus. Kier steps forward, asking the question on everyone's mind. "You are resigning from your position?!"

Anna sighs. "I am tired of war. I want to have some time for myself, to be with the one I love, and perhaps one day, start a family. A military ship is no place to do these things."

Councillor Valern looks at Shepard. "So who do you want to nominate as a successor for your position?"

"Warlord Kier."

Some people gasp, others just stare, and Kier is astonished more than anyone else. "Why me?"

"Because nobody else in the Normandy has the leadership experience you have. Out of everyone in the crew, I am the most qualified person to lead, and with me out of the picture, they need someone wise, someone like you. You lead many krogan during the rebellions, even if forced to do your job, and believe it or not, I trust you to take on this job."

Kier was still stunned by the news. "Thanks, Shepard. I appreciate the trust."

"Any day, Kier."

Hackett then faces Shepard, asking her the ultimate question. "And where will you be while giving us advice?"

Anna holds Garrus' hand. "Right here, in the Citadel. I will be living in my apartment, starting my new life with the help of my fiancé."

The Council trades hushed words between itself, and they then face the people in front of them, with Tevos taking the oratory lead. "Before we discuss other issues in mind, we wish to announce that Anna Shepard will officially be considered an advisor of the Council, and that Warlord Kier, to help in his new assignment, will be our newest Spectre, and the first from his kind."

Kier gives a slight bow. "Thank you, Councillors. Your vote of trust honours me."

Tevos bows slightly as well, and then faces Shepard. "Now, we are to discuss what this odd looking Geth is…" She says, pointing at Harbinger.

Anna exclaims. "Ah, him. Councillors, this is Harbinger."

Wide eyes and slacked hanging jaws is the only thing the Councillors exhibit after this sentence.


	15. Chapter 15 - A day of the couple

Author's Comment:

So here we are, in the second phase of the story. Things are planned to be simple and smooth, but who knows when a crazy idea might come up into the middle of the story to destabilize the peace. Anyway, enough rambling, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: A day of the couple

Two months went by, time which was enough for things to smoothly change and adapt. During the first week, Anna visited everyone in the Normandy, slowly saying her goodbyes, and the change of her own life. The only odd moment in that week was walking into Kips, whom was taking a break from work, dancing vigorously while hearing a very old human song: "caramelldansen". Her face of astonishment, followed by that of Traynor's, who happened to be a secret fan of anime and manga in general, was the high point of that day. Before departure, Kips gave only one excuse. "The song is energetic; it fits well with my biological needs." Needless to say, Shepard wasn't convinced.

With time, the Council became more and more accepting of Harbinger's presence, and even gave him a seat alongside them, to which he agreed. One of the interesting developments in that short month was the presence of one hundred Reaper ships around the Citadel. Some people were scared, but as the public was informed of developments, they gradually became more and more accepting of their presence. Some even felt safer, as these behemoths flew around this space city, their guns primed and ready for anyone trying to enter this safe haven of space civilization.

Some of the smaller changes that occurred in that space structure were the changing of some buildings and structures for global purposes; many institutions would now operate under the watchful eye of the Council, for protection of the former, as well as to receive the funding they deserved. Some of these institutions included a school for biotics, N7 and Spectre training, being the N7 category of military level just below Spectre, with it being part of the new Council Government, as well as others. The new government even had its own scientific research structures, with some research projects being directed from Kips to them, when they reached a stage of development that required a greater work force.

And after these two months, Shepard was walking into her apartment, given to her by Anderson, when she heard a familiar turian voice. "Hey, welcome home!" Garrus walked out of the kitchen and went to Shepard, giving her a kiss. "How was your first day?"

Shepard closed the door shut and sat down on the couch, and exhaled. "It was tiring, but enjoyable. Jack was right, teaching biotic kids was rough, especially with her asking me to demonstrate things to them."

Garrus gained an inquisitive expression. "What do you mean with that?"

"As you know, Jack is one of the main tutors of biotics here in the Citadel, and I was picked to be her assistant until she thinks I can handle teaching kids on my own. Sadly for me, she is aware of my limits, so I was picked to have a short sparring match to demonstrate some abilities to the kids."

"Knowing Jack, I am sure that you will come home with a few bruises, if not worse. I would enjoy seeing you two fight it out, though..."

"Why do you say that?"

"Vega was right about one thing: seeing hot women fight each other has some sort of appeal to it..."

Shepard's eyes tightened and she gave him the best Clint Eastwood stare she could summon, only to make him laugh out loud, before getting up and going to the kitchen. "So what are you doing?"

"Well, as you know, I come home earlier than you, so I decided to start preparing dinner for us two. Also, I made some changes to the back room, where you used to have the bed next to the punching bag..."

Anna walked away from the stove and crossed the hallway, reaching the back room, which brought back the memory of beating James' pull up record. Crossing the entrance to the room, she saw a room stocked with shelves, equipment, tools and anything that Garrus could get his hands on to work on, being the most noticeable category, the guns. "So you are telling me that you turned the back room into your hobby spot?"

From the kitchen, Garrus was quick to shoot back a response. "If you could build an arena inside the house to have biotic duels in it, I am pretty sure you wouldn't waste a second."

Anna grinned, expecting a response like that. She uncrossed her arms, going to her beloved soldier, whom gave her a heads up. "By the way, our bedroom has guns. I placed them under the bed, two handguns, just in case."

"So weapons nearby really do help you sleep... you lied to me when you said you fell asleep by accident next to your sniper rifle, back in the Normandy."

"Yeah, well, I uh..." Garrus' gaze went from Shepard to the food that was being cooked in front of him.

"Mister Vakarian. So quick to shoot back a response, as easily as you shoot back at your enemies, and now you find yourself cornered... you are growing soft..." She said, leaning towards him. He looked down her shirt and smirked. "I always knew my presence put you in the mood... and I don't grow soft... can't do that right now, anyway..." He ended this sentence in a whisper, and kissed her neck, making her chuckle in enjoyment, until they heard the doorbell.

Shepard walked out of the kitchen, and headed towards the door. She tapped at the terminal to see who was requesting to get in. Smiling, she rushed the door to open and stretched her arms to their respective sides in a welcoming warm gesture. "James!"

Vega walked into the apartment and gave her a strong hug. "Lola!" Garrus walked towards them and gave James a strong handshake.

"Well if it isn't my old banter buddy. Did you pull off any unrealistically impressive feats in N7 training so far?"

James laughed. "Not yet, no."

Anna was quick to spit out a question that plagued her since seeing Vega. "What are you doing here? Last time I recall, N7 training takes a long time to complete."

"They moved me here. Ever since the N7 became part of some new Citadel government, they changed the place where I train. So what are you two doing here, are you on shore leave?"

Anna shook her head. "We are taking a long vacation. We decided to take time off, focus on our relationship, and just relax."

Vega nodded. "I get it. You two did enough during the war, now I think you deserve a vacation. Anyway, I just came here to visit. Since I live close by, I can drop by and keep in touch; beats speaking through vidcom."

Garrus was gone at this point of the conversation, and he returned with the old punching bag he took from the back room. "If you want to take this home with you, feel free. I am sure we don't need it much."

Vega patted the equipment with a touch of affection. "No, you guys keep it. I got all the equipment to train I need back at the N7 quarters." He puts the punching bag down near the piano. "Just leave it there. Now and then, I will drop by, chat up with you guys, and throw some punches in that thing to pass the time."

Anna smirked. "Alright, we will call that your personal spot when you visit us."

Vega started to walk around, nonchalant. "So what are you two doing with yourselves to pass the time?"

Shepard uncrossed her arms and went to the kitchen, to check on the food. "Well, I am helping Jack teach biotic kids how to control their powers and make good use of them."

Vega then glanced over at Garrus, who was leaned against one of the kitchen counters. "What about you, loco?"

"What do you think? I was evaluated and granted a teaching position at the N7 HQ. I teach hand to hand combat, and rifle use, mostly sniper rifles."

Vega gave him a confused look. "Then how haven't I seen you there?"

"I teach the new kids. I am pretty sure you are one of those special cases that got placed in a higher level due to your experience with the war..." Garrus then looks at Shepard, and says something that makes her laugh. "And let's not forget that you fought side by side with Shepard. I am sure they considered that aspect, due to the fame of her missions... you know what I am talking about: how suicidal and mad they are... and how we always came out of it..."

James laughed as Anna spat out a piece of her own food, to see if it was ready or not, and then noticed the N7 logo placed on the left side, from Garrus' point of view, of the turian's new black armour.

They talked away as Anna prepared something extra, but simple, for James to eat. Vega conversed as he threw some punches into the bag, and the following meal was pleasant, being done with the trade of war stories, as common among warriors.

James left, waving goodbye at them as he walked down the hallway to the elevator. From this moment on, in the same day, every week, James Vega would show up with some supplies, and make some of his famous meals for the enjoyment of the couple.

After the departure of Vega, Garrus and Anna were watching a vid, until she yawned, prompting Vakarian to poke her to gain her attention. "I had an idea: we still got a couple of hours until dinner, after which we will slowly bore ourselves until we decide about going to sleep at the usual hour or not; so why don't we go down the elevator, head to the Armax Arena, and make use of your membership there to do a few rounds for fun."

Shepard glanced at Garrus with a one sided grin, and nodded. "Alright, let's do it. It has been a while since I have fired a gun, and believe it or not, I miss it." The two get up, and Anna rushes up the stairs to get a jacket. Garrus was already waiting at the door when Anna walked down.

Holding hands, they walk out of the apartment, as Garrus used his omni-tool to lock the door securely. They enter the elevator and head down, in a "ritual" they were used to so much. As they got out, they passed by the skycar terminal, and saw someone got out of one of the cars. That person turned around, and smiled, calling out their names.

"Garrus! Shepard!"

Anna turned to her left, and received a sudden hug from Miranda, being quick to reply to it. Garrus also received a demonstration of affection from the ex-Cerberus operative, and she was quick to pop the question. "So you are retired now?"

Anna chuckled and shook her head. "No, no. We like to call it a medium length vacation."

"Alright, then. I assume things have been going well for you. I mean, Garrus here has the armour and insignia of an N7 instructor, and from what I hear, the famous Commander Shepard enrolled as the assistant for the best teacher in the Council endorsed school for biotics."

Anna stared at Miranda. "How did you find out what I do for a living?"

Miranda smirked. "Come on Shepard, isn't it obvious that Jack told me?"

"You two talk to each other?"

Miranda nodded. "We worked around our differences and actually became friends. It took a while to get it through her thick head, but she realised that neither me nor Cerberus high command had anything to do with her childhood trauma. So where are you two going? I was about to visit you at the apartment..."

Anna pointed at Armax. "We are going there for a few rounds, to have some fun, relax, and perhaps beat Aria's highscore. Want to join us?"

Miranda agrees to this as they start walking towards the front door. Getting in, they cause a sensation with just their presence, and it is not long before the arena is cleared for them to use. The ensuing show reveals their battle prowess, as Garrus pulls off some amazing headshots, Miranda tears enemies apart with precise and powerful biotics, and Shepard throws herself into the middle with biotic charges, melee and shredding shotgun fire.


	16. Chapter 16 - Anna

Author's Comment:

So here is yet another chapter. As always, I hope you enjoy them and feel free to review, follow or favourite my work. It only shows that you enjoyed it and care. Anyway, enough rambling, go on and read.

PS: I have noticed, through PMs or outside of site conversation, that at least some of you have taken note of the new pairing I put in the story settings. You will see well enough of it soon.

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: Anna

A few weeks later...

Anna sits up, alarmed, sweat running down her face, and her eyes going around the room, like a paranoid soldier, behind cover, trying to search for an enemy that isn't there. She reaches up and covers her face with both hands, consciously slowing down her sped up breathing, as well as her heart beat. Suddenly she feels a hand on her shoulder, and stares at Garrus, whom had a worried expression. "Bad dream?"

She nods. "What was it about this time?"

Garrus puts on his visor, thinking he might as well get up now, as Anna, still shaking, begins to let it all out. "It was about Kaidan..."

"Again?"

She nods once more. "Yes, again..."

"Well, did you notice any differences?" Garrus says, sitting down next to her, on the other side of the bed from which he got out of, and letting her lean against his chest.

"Yeah, I did. This time, the dream was more faded, blurry, and not as startling."

Garrus smiles as Anna looks to him. "See? It is getting better. Have you been going to the therapist like scheduled?"

Shepard got up, and went to the bathroom, to get dressed. "Yes, I have. One hour, every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon. What about you?"

"Hardasses don't need therapists..." Anna leans out from the bathroom, poking her head through the invisible frontier between bedroom and bathroom, staring at Garrus, who then laughs. "I am kidding. I go there every Tuesday and Friday. I think we are doing some progress."

Anna sighs, putting her shirt on as she leaves the bathroom. "PTSD is a bitch. Anyway, what are you going to do today?"

Garrus finishes putting on his armour, as he was used to wearing it every day at this point, and grabs onto Anna's hands. "I will most likely be staying in the back room during the morning, messing around with our guns, then in the afternoon... I don't know, we will see what happens..." He then kisses Anna, and she chuckles.

"Nothing like a lazy Sunday..." She then let's go and heads down to make breakfast. "Well, sorry if I seem rushed, but I have a meeting with the Council in half an hour. They asked to go over some new developments. I don't know what they are until I get there, as usual."

Garrus starts helping to prepare his own breakfast. "Badass teacher during the week, politician in the weekends; what is it that you don't do?"

Anna looked at Garrus and shook her head, with the highest amount of seriousness ever seen. "Don't say that word every again..."

"What word?" Garrus replied, confused.

"The 'p' word..."

It took a few seconds of thinking for Garrus to realize she meant the word politician. "You mean, politician? What is so wrong about that word?" Suddenly Anna starts to chuckle, and bursts out seconds later into heavy laughter. Garrus sighs, shaking his head in partial amusement. "I don't get you, sometimes..."

Anna kisses him in the cheek, before continuing to make both their meals. "Some things are best kept a mystery. If you entered my mind, you would go insane." He mumbles in agreement, and then proceeds to leaning back on the counter.

"So tell me, have you thought about the wedding plans lately?"

Anna's eyes open wide, and she stares at nothing. "I completely forgot about that..."

At Shepard's expression, Garrus can't help to grin, but he is quick to comfort her. "Don't worry. I am not in a hurry, and there is no need to rush things. I want the event itself to be well thought out and prepared..."

The two sit down for their meal a short while after, eating in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Anna then kisses Garrus and walks out the door, which he locks behind her, before heading to the backroom and toy around with guns and their respective modding.

Shepard goes down the elevator and takes the first skycar available towards the Presidium ring, where she then has to stop, go through a few hallways, and enter the inner section of that place. She takes another skycar and reaches the main entrance for the elevators that lead up to the Council chambers. Upon stepping in, someone rushes to enter the elevator as well, it was a female krogan.

Both of them stand there, and exit at the top floor, without uttering a word to each other. Shepard motions her arm, politely requesting for the krogan to exit first, to which she does, thanking Shepard for her manners. Both of them walk forward, heading to the Council debate room. It was different from the times of hunting Saren. This time, the Council room had an amphitheatre format, with seats set in levels, being each level smaller than the first, ending in the central oval stage.

Councillor Tevos looks at the two women and nods. "Ah, Shepard; I see you have met Councillor Jaraka." Anna quickly looked at the female krogan, who was fast on her tongue to reply.

"Tevos, we haven't spoken yet. I assume Shepard is unaware of my nature."

Anna looked at the asari Councillor. "What is going on?"

Tevos raised her index finger. "Councillor Jaraka will be, from now on, the new krogan councillor here on the Citadel. She is Bakara's sister, and agreed to take her place."

Anna nodded. "Alright, I get it, but what happened to Urdnot Bakara? I mean, Tuchanka Bakara, sorry... I forgot that you no longer have clans, but take the name of your birth planet..."

Jaraka joined her hands, intertwining her fingers. "She decided to resign due to personal matters. It is nothing serious, don't worry, but I will explain after this meeting..."

Agreeing to this, Shepard accompanies the two Councillors into the room, where the other Councillors were waiting for them, as well as a couple of more trusted Spectres. She compliments them all with a handshake for each, and is quick to sit down. Harbinger leaves his spot.

"Good day. Today I will present our order of business for discussion..."

This sentence marked the beginning of a three hour meeting, which was filled of smaller minor topics, since the most important ones had been discussed in the weeks following the creation of the new council based government. From this day forth many decisions were made; the Reapers had changed their own label to Protectors; the interspecies adoption protocol had been permitted, letting couples of two different species adopt children from species beyond their own, a discussion which angered Anna due to the fact of being such an obvious decision to make; the first fleet of the council government was organized, being placed under the care of Admiral Han'Gerrel, the role of whom in the Quarian vs Geth war was recognized, his recklessness standing out, as the Council was sure of the need of that personality trait, since the first fleet itself was composed of many heavy ships, included three Protector destroyers.

At the end of this political assignment, Anna started to walk out of the council debate room, until Harbinger called everyone's attention without intention. "Amazing!"

Anna turned around and faced the former foe. "That sounded emotional. Did you upgrade your personality programming?"

Harbinger nodded. "Yes, I have. Anyway, I have happy news to state: Urdnot Bakara has just gotten into labour."

Anna stares at Councillor Jaraka, whom replied in the same astonished fashion. Kicking into overdrive, Anna's voice roars out to everyone who could hear her. "Jaraka, I will go get the skycar ready, don't take too long!" Shepard rushes out of the council chambers and heads to the elevator.

Councillor Sparatus chuckles, and the other Councillors stare at him. "Amazing. She has been on vacation for over five months, and still has the light speed reaction she had during the war."

Harbinger and Jaraka are quick to follow, heading down another elevator. After stepping out, they see a skycar already working, the doors open. They are quick to get in, as Anna puts the vehicle working. It fires off, passing ahead of a lot of other skycars, disregarding the circulation rules of the Presidium ring. The landing is quick, a bit rough, but spot on. The car is halfway through shutting down its engine when Anna already had opened the door and jumped out.

The former Reaper and the Councillor follow in her steps, as they head to the third floor of Huerta Memorial Hospital, where the maternity ward was located. Security is still well performed, and they stand by for confirmation. After they are allowed in, they find a very stressed Wrex, pacing back and forth in the spacious waiting room. Anna walks up to him, as Jaraka, wise as she is, decides to sit down and calmly wait. Harbinger sits down next to her, and enters standby mode, leaving his humanoid body passively working.

"Shepard!"

"Wrex, how is Eve?"

"In labour... she got in there fifteen minutes ago... anyway, you were quick getting here..."

"Shows how much I care..."

He lays his hand on her shoulder, and shakes her slightly. "Thanks. I am still concerned, though." He restarts his wary pacing. "I mean... I am going to be a dad!"

"Yeah, I know. It is time for diapers and whatever the heck comes with a krogan baby. No more ass kicking, at least until your kid, or kids, grow up."

Wrex exhales loudly. "It wracks my nerves. I don't want to fail the kids, you know?"

Anna crosses her arms and smiles. "The fact that you broke away from tradition, tried to change your society for the best, doing everything your father didn't do, it proves that your mind is set on the best interest of those around you... at least those that deserve it..."

Wrex nods. "That is right... but still..." He stares at nothing, towards infinity. "Krogan are not the most peaceful of species. I heard jokes about how human children are restless, but you clearly haven't seen krogan kids. I remember my childhood, and we were hyperactive..."

"Like a hamster on crack..." Anna mumbles to herself.

"Excuse me?" Wrex asked, staring in confusion at Shepard.

"It's a human joke, don't mind it..."

Suddenly, an asari doctor appears in the room, and smiles. "The procedure was a success. Bakara is now relaxed, resting, and can receive people in her room."

Harbinger snaps awake and gets up at the same time as Jaraka. The four of them enter the delivery room, which was spacious, being designed to take into consideration the room every species could require to give birth comfortably. Since the Elcor are the largest species on the Citadel, Krogan find comfort easily.

The four surround Eve as she holds six children in her arms. Their young faces poking out of the covers that were placed around them. These blankets were ceremonial and made by the Krogan themselves. Wrex picked up the first born, whom was indicated to by Eve, and lifted him up in the air. "Hello, little guy." He then looks at Eve. "You still want to name him Mordin?"

Eve nods. "It is a great name for a boy." Anna picks up Mordin, after Wrex hands him to her.

"Oh, you krogan kids sure are heavy, uh?" She smiles at him and pokes him playfully with her index finger. He giggles and bites her. "Ow, son of a... Jesus, krogan offspring are born with fully grown teeth?!"

Eve chuckles. "Yes, they are. And I must say, the way you hold my first born gives you the glow of a mother. I think it is time for you to have children, Anna."

Shepard smiles, and continues to play with Mordin. The kids are passed around and named, until Garrus enters the room abruptly. "Did I miss anything important?"

Anna shakes her head. "No, you arrived just in time." Garrus walks over and grabs onto Eve's hand, in a sign of friendship, before being given the sixth child. After some exchange of words, he looks at the kid. "So what are you going to name your last son?"

Eve looks at Garrus, smiling. "It is a girl... and I already got the perfect name for her..."

Wrex looks at Eve, holding Boron in his arms. "What is it, sweety?"

Anna snorts. "Calling Eve sweet? You sure have grown soft..."

Wrex shrugs his shoulders. "I may have, but I can damn well kick the ass of anyone in the krogan species, one versus one..."

Anna nods and then stares at Eve. "So what are you going to name your baby girl?"

Eve smiles at Anna. "I am going to call her... Anna..."

Shepard's eyes widen in surprise, as much as everyone else.


	17. Chapter 17 - A surprise or two

Author's Comment:

Before you get on reading, someone stated disappointment towards the lateness of the content that is going to present itself now in this story. To that person in particular, all I say is this: things take time to develop, and not everyone can be satisfied; but stating that you are wasting your time reading my story, because this chapter's main theme hasn't shown up after fourteen chapters, that is a serious toxic move, as well as a bad way to get my attention. So, for the first time ever in my story, I will end the author's comment with a very polite "screw you".

To all the rest that are about to read this chapter, I hope you enjoy it. I also hope my migraine hasn't gotten in the way of the quality of this chapter. I wrote it a bit rushed.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: A surprise... or two...

Shepard yawned. She had been waiting for a couple of hours now, and even keeping herself busy playing one of her favourite games, "A krogan's usual day...", where she had to fight off waves of Rachni, Reaper troops and at the end of each survival match, a Thresher Maw, she found herself bored. Two hours was too long, and her naturally high curiosity, sometimes more of a nuisance than an actual helpful skill, wasn't helping.

She paced around the house, and even settled down to play on the piano, something she had been learning to do in the last couple of months. She did it because she liked it; but a month after Eve gave birth, the krogan came to visit, bringing Mordin with her. Out of intuition, Anna headed to the piano, after the first born began crying. The soothing music relaxed the baby, and even made him cheerful.

At this point, it had been nearly four months since Bakara had given birth to her six children. Doctors were puzzled as to why they weren't twenty, but everyone with an interest in krogan birth rates soon realized that having twenty wasn't a certain event, although it was possible. Wrex himself thanked whatever Gods he prayed to, that he didn't have to raise a battalion of krogan children. Six were enough, and he even requested that his house on the Citadel, where he came now and then with Eve, to visit Shepard, was upgraded with thicker walls and stronger objects.

Suddenly, the daydreaming ended with the beeping of the signal that told Anna that someone was at the door. She looked at the television in front of her, seeing Jack and Miranda. She opened the door, and greeted her two long-time friends in, with a hug each. As they head in, Anna's omni-tool beeps violently, and she smirks. "Good morning Kasumi…"

Suddenly, and to everyone's surprise, except Shepard's, Kasumi comes out of invisibility. "Seriously? You are good…"

Anna smirked. "Well, Zaeed was here the other day, stopping by to visit me and Garrus, and he brought in some security equipment to improve the apartment's safety. That is how I detected you as being cloaked…"

Kasumi crossed her arms. "So that is why he told me to come visit you… the old man is smart."

Anna shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, if the galaxy's best thief can't bypass this kind of security, I think I am safe…"

Kasumi nods. "Well, I will go back to the Strip. I hear there is a tournament going on. Might as well set up a deal with a friend or two to win it." She walks out, leaving Anna to shake her head in amusement.

Anna closes the door and turns to her guests, letting them sit down next to the fireplace. She goes to the kitchen and brings back a bottle of an alcoholic beverage, as well as some small glasses, still bigger than the shot variant.

She poured a few drinks for the three, and they began talking away, reminiscing on their old days aboard the Normandy, their own personal adventures during and after the war, as well as their lives in the most recent manner.

Anna showed them around, explaining the small changes to the apartment, like Vega's punching bag next to the window of the house, and Garrus' hobby room in the back. Even Miranda stared at the shelves and boxes of equipment and couldn't help to laugh a little. "This is so like him. Calibrating equipment all the time..."

Anna chuckled and asked them to follow her. They went upstairs, to the Jacuzzi next to her bedroom. "He spent three days setting this thing right... but right now, it is amazing..." She drops her glass and the bottle next to the tub, and goes to fetch her swim suit, dropping in slowly. The other two biotics follow in example and groan of pleasure.

Jack smiles. "Oh, this feels so good... I need to get one of these for my apartment..."

Miranda chuckles. "Well, I don't see any problem with it... do it!"

Jack looks at Anna. "So how much does this cost?"

Shepard took a sip of her drink. "It was already here with the house, but last time I checked, one of these costs around eight thousand credits..."

Miranda stares at Anna. "Seriously? I could get a good gun for that price..."

The former Spectre shrugs her shoulders, and then stares at his two friends. "So you two said earlier that you had something in mind to tell me?"

Miranda nodded and fiddled with her hands, all in a nervous manner. She looked at Jack, and back at Anna, before deciding to finally reveal what had been in her mind for a while. "Well, in today's society, something such as this is considered normal and widely accepted, but due to the nature of our relationship with you, I gave it some more thought and decided to reveal the details with some care..."

Anna shook her head briefly in confusion, and then stared at Jack and Miranda holding hands. The war hero's eyes widen as she stares at her two friends, Jack being the first one to speak.

"We are dating..."

Anna stares for a while and then slowly looks at the bottle next to her. "I thought this would take longer to kick in..."

Miranda laughs out loud, and Anna then speaks up. "I mean, yeah, same sex relationships are normal, but... you two, of all people, together? That is just mind blowing..."

Miranda bites her lip and mumbles. "That is not the only thing that is mind blowing..."

Anna snorts. "Keep yourselves under control, I am sitting here, damn it." She clears her throat and adjusts her seating position, to put herself more comfortable. "So you two are dating right now? How did that happen? I mean, you used to bicker all the time back on the Normandy..."

Jack shrugged her shoulders. "It just kind of happened..."

Anna smiles. "Well, I hope you two are happy together..." She takes a sip of her glass, and makes her two friends laugh. "And if you two want a Jacuzzi to do your freaky couple stuff in it, I can help you get one..."

Miranda then looks around. "How can you afford a place like this with a teaching position?"

Anna swallows her drink and begins to explain. "Well, with the money I saved up from my salary during the war, as well as the vids, interviews, and my currently being edited biography, there is plenty of money flowing in to my account. Besides, this place isn't as costly as you think it is. It uses high end technology, which was designed to be cost efficient and lasting, so the apartment bill at the end of each month is around two thousand credits..."

Jack does the math. "So you and Garrus both gain four thousand credits, combined... and you still got a buttload of money coming in from other stuff you do... well, I guess you can live comfortably..."

Anna nods and yawns, feeling sleepy due to the heat of the water. She decides to get out of the tub and take a walk, drying herself off before exiting the bathroom. She walks around the house barefooted, and hears Garrus walking in. Going up to him, she gives him an intense kiss, to which he replies. "A passionate hello while wearing something revealing? This is my lucky day..."

Shepard laughs and shuffles some stuff around the kitchen, before returning upstairs to the Jacuzzi. She walks up the stairs and finds Garrus staring into the tub. Walking over, she sees Miranda and Jack making out intensively, and pulls the still astonished Garrus out of the room. She looks at him. "They are dating..."

Garrus nods. "So that is the not the alcohol in effect?"

Shepard shakes her head.

Later that day, Jack and Miranda leave, holding each other's hands as usual, and walk towards the elevator. Garrus is quick to shot out a wise crack. "Please tell me you have that recorded..."

Anna coughs. "I don't see why you need it. You got me and those extranet sites you visit so much..."

Garrus, once more, is unable to shoot back a counter argument, all this for the amusement of Shepard. She starts preparing dinner, and half an hour later, as expected, she opens the door for Jacob Taylor and Brynn Cole. Garrus greets them warmly, as well as Shepard, and it is not long until they gather around a table for dinner, catching up on what has been happening in the lives of each person.

"So how is Andrea doing?" Garrus asked, referring to Jacob and Brynn's daughter.

Jacob smiles. "She is doing great; very young but already reveals talent... and we discovered something that made a scientific research project jumpstart..."

Anna frowned, confused. "What is that?"

Brynn exhales. "She inherited Jacob's biotic potential..."

Anna and Garrus' eyes widen, to which Jacob comments. "That was precisely my reaction... scientists are absolutely astonished, and are now working on discovering how biotic abilities are inheritable. Thankfully, we got top Asari scientists working with us to figure out how this is possible..."

The dinner itself doesn't last longer than an hour, but the time spent talking after that reaches up to midnight, an hour at which Taylor decides it is late, and time to leave. Shepard learns that Jacob is applying for a teaching position at the same school where Jack and Anna work, while Brynn Cole has already landed a position as a laboratory leader in one of the several scientific projects of the Citadel, working on converting Protector (formerly called Reaper) technology to their own ships. This technology was given away willingly by Harbinger, who wished for the galaxy to advance to their level, as it was fair in his own reasoning. Things reached a point of some of the sentient Protector ships creating their own humanoid forms to assist in scientific research.

By this point of time, Quarians already received a huge immunity boost, thanks to the research started by Kips, and finished by a devoted team of Citadel scientists. This strengthened the bonds between Quarian - and Geth, since they still viewed Quarians as their parent race - immensely. With this, the Quarian government devoted their best two hundred engineers to research projects to improve the strength of the newly growing galactic government.

At the end of the night, Shepard waved goodbye at the friendly couple they had for dinner and walked away as the door closed. Garrus commented on how amazing it was for someone to inherit biotic abilities, and proceeded to go watch the news, all while Anna decided to check on her e-mail address. She hadn't checked it all day, and there were fifteen messages stocked since last night at eleven pm.

She quickly browsed through them, and when she reached the tenth, she called out for Garrus, who took a quick pace to reach her. She put the video playing, and it was of a female human, announcing to everyone, under Council permission, that an adoption agency had opened up in the Citadel, housing itself over a thousand children without parents. A tear of happiness ran down Shepard's cheek, and Garrus kissed her where the tear had passed. He whispered very gently. "Let's prepare ahead of time... and then we go there on Wednesday." Anna kissed him gently and hugged him, a silent thank you explained with action.


End file.
